


When Flowers Wilt

by FransGivesMeLife



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aged-Up Frisk (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Reapertale (Undertale), F/M, Female Frisk (Undertale), Frisk needs friends too, Reapertale Papyrus (Undertale), Reapertale Sans (Undertale), Sans needs friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 11:28:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24849043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FransGivesMeLife/pseuds/FransGivesMeLife
Summary: The Goddess of Life is dying, and it's up to her daughter and the God of Death to save her before the whole world crumbles to pieces.
Relationships: Frisk/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 67
Kudos: 95





	1. The beginning of the end

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man I've been sitting on this one for half a year. I wrote it and waited for my beta to go through it but then she disappeared and I got sad over my writing anyway.  
> Now... I don't care XD  
> English aint my first language so if you spot a mistake you can point it out <3 I'll just be crying in my not-good-enough corner  
> About the fanfic... It's inspired by Staringback's fanfic 'GreekTale' and its great worldbuilding  
> The idea for this fanfic was 'in Reapertale, Sans is usually the one who falls in love with Frisk first... what if it was another way', but that's not quite what I wrote XD gotta read to find out what actually happens

Long ago, Earth was ruled over by monsters — immortal creatures of mighty strength and magical powers that could shape the world as they pleased.

One day Queen of Monsters, Toriel, created beings with souls so strong that they rivaled monster's — humans. However, without magic of their own and a lifespan no more than a century, they struggled to live on their own.

Monsters began to help them, guiding and aiding them through their lives. Humans called them 'Gods', those who lived at the top of the legendary Mountain Ebott.

A lot of humans tried to climb that mountain, to reach the Gods, but no one succeeded… until one day, a human child was found on the mountain. Asriel, the King's son, was wondering through the forest and heard a cry for help. Finding an injured human, he brought her to the castle, where his parents treated her wounds.

Over time Asriel and the human girl, Chara, became like siblings.

The King and Queen treated her as their own. The Goddess of Life even shared a part of her soul with Chara, granting her immortality and power to wield magic. They called her a Demigoddess.

The world was full of hope.

Until one day…

Chara used that magic to kill Asriel.

It was the moment Gods saw how truly powerful human beings can get.

Magic was taken from Chara and her body was thrown into the Void. After that, by the King's order, the Gods shutted themselves in their mountain, refusing their magic to humans in need. The Queen, however, could not abandon her creations like that, and so she abandoned her own kind instead, fleeing the Godly city of Ebott.  
No other God stepped on the mortal's land after that… except for the Goddess of Life, who sustained all life while hiding from monsters, and two Reapers, Gods of Death, who collected human souls when their time on the land above ran out and swept them below into the dark realm of the Underworld.

One day, Toriel stumbled upon another human child that was on a brink of death. Despite this little girl looking so much like Chara, the Goddess of Life once again shared a part of her soul, and a new Demigoddess was born.

Frisk.

The Gods, the King included, were aware of this, and some wanted to kill the girl for the crimes of the other, but Toriel has hidden her too well. Their little wooden house was right on the edge of the mountain Ebott, right under everyone's noses, protected from prying eyes and searching spells by the Barrier magic the Goddess of Life possessed.

And so the balance in the world was kept… until the Demigoddess grew up.

* * *

Frisk was really shy when it came to expressing her opinion to her mother - Toriel was a Goddess, and a Goddess of Life nonetheless, so Frisk was certain she could take proper care of herself.

However… she felt like it was time to bring it up.

Something was wrong.

Frisk started to notice dark shadows under her mother's eyes but she dismissed it - Toriel was using an _ungodly_ amounts of magic on a daily basis, starting from maintaining the Barrier over their home to maintaining _the nature_ itself. She was most probably tired.

Then, her posture, usually always tall, strong and gracious, hence her titles of Queen and Goddess, slouched. Frisk asked her to go easier on herself, but she reassured her that she will be alright with an energy potion or two. The Demigoddess even made some for her, though she wasn't that great at infusing potions or anything that wasn't a flower with magic, but they didn't seem to have any effect. Maybe her potion making skills were even worse than she thought.

After a short while Toriel's voice, motherly, warm, and calming, became quiet and tired. Frisk couldn't diamiss her worries anymore.

Moreover, the Demigoddess saw those changes reflected on the outside world as well — the flowers around their house lowered their buds, the leaves started to turn tangerine as if autumn had already came, animals ran away as if they sensed an upcoming tragedy, some of them dying from hunger or weakness, and after the animals...

... humans started to die as well.

Fear circled in the pit of her stomach, making the Demigoddess nauseous. Toriel was _a Goddess_ , and not just any Goddess. She was Goddess of Life itself, someone who had the power to heal and bring new life… and now this Life was slowly dying. That fact itself terrified her to the core, but more terrifying was the fact that it was her mother.

If she were to die, Frisk would be alone for all eternity... until the same plague claims, her or once the world itself teares apart without Life to sustain it.

"You should talk to the other Gods." Frisk said, fluttering around her mother. "This is not normal. Maybe the King can-"

"No!" Toriel's voice, even in her state, still managed to sound booming and stern. "My child, I understand that you are worried, but believe me, I'll find a way-"

Frisk felt her hands curl into little fists, shaking from anger and worry at her mother's stubbornness.

"No, mother!" She had never argued with Toriel, at least not like that, but her worry slowly turned into irritation. "Your sickness is getting worse, and not even you know what it is. This is not the time to be prideful. Accept that we need help!" Little tears escaped Frisk's eyes and flew from her lashes as she gritted her teeth.

The Goddess of Life hung her head and took a deep breath before silently walking out of the room, leaving her daughter alone, still shaking and on the brink of crying.

That night after Toriel went to sleep she didn't open her eyes anymore.

And then it hit Frisk. Her mother was falling down.

 _That's it._ Frisk thought, packing food and water into her little satchel, determined to find a way to help her mother.

She was hesitant to leave, afraid to leave Toriel alone in such vulnerable state, but she had to do _something_. If the protective Barrier around their house were to fall... it would be too late anyway.

Taking a deep breath, Frisk crossed the Barrier and went to Mountain Ebbot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't look at me like this, I told you I am no good  
> And I am still going to post it in the whole glory because oh well I wrote it out so might as well, not like it'll magically become better while rotting in my phone notes
> 
> Next chapter: the god of death gets threatened by a stick


	2. Strangers you encounter on the mountain Ebott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk climbs and Sans descends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's second chapter cuz first one is pretty boring

Climbing seemed relatively easy at first.

Even with fear for her mother's health lingering at the back of her mind, Frisk couldn't help but feel excited. She was rarely allowed to go somewhere further than the little groove near their house, and she never encountered any other God either.

Toriel said that she should never seek a meeting with any other God, being the only Demigoddess since Chara. After what she's done, other Gods won't hesitate to kill Frisk, even if she didn't have any ill intentions.

She heard that story not once, but it still struck her with sadness. But Gods… all of them resented not only Demigods, but the humanity itself after what happened.

It was not fair in her eyes, and she was prepared to say it to any God that stood in her way.

Frisk didn't doubt her mother's words, but deep inside she wanted to believe that she might've been exaggerating, at least a tiny bit. She tended to do that with things that seemed 'possibly dangerous' in her eyes, and when it came to her daughter, that was a _lot_ of things.

From what Frisk heard, Gods resented humanity as much as Toriel resented other Gods.

Those believes may have been justified now, since Life's words about outside world have been just as negative, but so far Frisk had seen nothing but beauty around, even if it was hindered by the state of the Goddess who was responsible for it all. Accustomed to the same landscapes for decades upon decades of her long life, Frisk's soul sang with joy at the new sights. So many corners seemed so welcoming to take a little rest and breath in the scenery, but she was too determined to succumb to that temptation.

At the same time, she felt a bit nostalgic... Human portion of her life was so, so impossibly long ago, the times when she roamed the unknown territories that she all but forgotten... It almost seemed like those distant memories of almost previous life were resurfacing now.

All those thoughts plagued her head for majority of her climb, but higher she went more difficult the path was becoming. Toriel told her tales of the 'pretentious tasteless riches'' (of "boasted snobbish hunks" like her mother called other Gods), which still painted a picture of something gorgeous in Frisk's mind, but so far besides beautiful landscapes that mountain had to offer she did not see any traces of Godly or even humanly presence. It was getting darker as well, which waned her determination bit by bit.

She might have been scared of the dark... just a little. The dread of not knowing what lays in the shadows before her made her blood run cold.

With that in mind, Frisk hesitantly decided to take a break for the night. Walking around in darkness would probably just make her even more lost. She found a flowerbed of beautiful golden flowers, still alive and blooming under a big oak tree that, on the contrary, fell victim to the poor state of the Goddess of Life and darkened, shedding it's already orange leaves in the middle of summer.

Feeling bittersweet, Frisk put a hand on its trunk, hoping that her magic could help the tree spring alive, before she layed down and curled among the golden flowers, praying to the stars for her mother's health before closing her eyes.

* * *

Sans had that deep unpleasant qfeeling in his bones for the longest time now. Something was wrong with the world.

He spent a lot of time in his kingdom below, holding trials for the souls, determining which path they'll go from this point, but he went into the human world plenty of times as well, bringing mortals their end.

He didn't care much how the surface world looked - only thing that could captivate him in that regard was sky, but he was not blind to the sudden changes in the nature, despite not actually having eyes.

His suspicions solidified the fact that death toll all but tripled, in a such short span of time no less. He and his brother worked hard, wholeheartedly wishing to give each and every soul the time and attention it deserved, but humans kept dying left and right, seemingly without reason. Even when plague occupied the lands reaper brothers didn't have such high amount of work to do.

The unnatural cause of it all worried Sans. He knew that dying flora and humanity's fall must have been connected, but he still couldn't think of a reason. It didn't seem like a curse of a God, since there was no magic presence on the surface...

... more like 'lack there of'.

Finally, he left his brother to go after the souls, marching himself to the Ebbot to demand answers from the King. He teleported right before gates to the Godly city, taking a look back at the forest that surrounded the mountain. His suspicions were true - even on mountain nature was slowly withering away.

As he scanned tree tops, naked or still populated with the last of the orange or rotten green leaves, lights of his eyes spotted something rather peculiar. In the distance, not so far away, he saw a big tree that was blooming anew, its green top - hard contrast against everything he could see down the mountain.

Reaper knew he shouldn't linger in the above world while his brother worked hard for the both of them, but, tickled by curiosity, he decided to look closer at that tree. So he slipped into the shadows, only to appear nearby to it.

He saw a gorgeous oak, its branches spread far and wide above other trees, as if it was shielding them. Stepping closer, Sans felt something brush against his feet. Looking down, he saw... flowers.

Confusion flew through him - he could never touch flowers, his magic presence too strong, making everything alive that comes in contact with him instantly die. He couldn't even stay on the ground for a long time without turning grass around his feet black and lifeless.

Pondering how it was possible, he leaned down, moving to touch petals with his fingers, before noticing a woman amongst the numerous other golden flowers. He jerked back, accidentally stepping on a dead branch, breaking it with a loud snap.

The noise awakened the girl, who, at first, opened her eyes slowly, but upon noticing she was not alone quickly jumped into the sitting position, backing away until her back hit the tree trunk. In a rush of panic, she grabbed a small twig nearby, swinging it in front of herself like a weapon.

"Who's there?" Woman's voice rang while she continued to press her back against the trunk.

Taken aback by this reaction, Sans froze. It was in no way a new response to his presence in front of a mortal, but he didn't expect to run into one here, especially this close to the top of the mountain.

He took a look at her - white robes, darkened by the dirt, olive skin, short dark hair that shined gold even in the shadows and piercing golden eyes. He wouldn't be impressed if not for the faint glow that was surrounding her entire being.

"... you are no mortal." He said slowly after a long pause.

Mysterious girl stopped shaking and lowered her twig down, staring at him with growing intensity.

"Are you... a God?" She asked in an unsure voice.

Sans cocked his head to the side. Even the most clueless of people had no doubts about that.

"Yes." He decided to humour her. He saw how her eyes sparkled with hope.

"Really? Can you take me with you? Please??" She stood up, looking more excited to be in his presence than anyone else he ever saw... except from his brother, bless his soul.

"You got a death wish, kid?" He muttered with a chuckle, not knowing what to make of this human.

"What? No. I really need to get to the top of the mountain." Lady straightened up her robes before extending a hand towards him for a handshake. "My name is Frisk!"

Sans stared dumbfounded at the offered hand and then smirked, looking back at her.

"Why do you think you'll be allowed there? Last time I've heard Gods never allowed mortals to enter their city."

Frisk frowned. "I am not a mortal. I am a Demigoddess."

_ Oh. _ Suddenly alive tree and flowers made sense, along with the feeling of warm magic radiating from this girl.  _ Life's daughter? Interesting. _

He was well aware of the past - after all, he was the one who brought Chara to the Void after _tge incident_ , and when he heard that Toriel created a _new_ Demigoddess... he was surprised, sure, but ironically he didn't desire her death like some of the other Gods did.

He was the God of Death and Justice, and he was a fair judge. Also... he didn't care. He never even met the new Demigoddess... until now.

"Oh, are you?" His smile widened before he grabbed her hand with a quick, harsh movement. "Look at this, you are. Otherwise you would be _dead where you stand._ " He shook her hand like he didn't just make her blood run cold. "Sans the skeleton, God of Death and Justice."

He felt the girl stiffen, her eyes widening slightly, but she still managed to smile.

"God of Death? Wow..." She muttered, sounding unsure.

"What, never heard about me from your mother?" He winked, enjoying the look of fluster and confusion on her face.

"Oh, you know..." She let go of his hand and rubbed her shoulder. "She doesn't like to talk about other Gods, even her old friends..."

"So I am not qualified as a good old friend?" He tried to sound offended, but in truth he expected something like this, since the girl didn't even know how he looked like.

"No no no!" Frisk waved her hands back and forth. "I heard about you. You have a brother, right?"

Well, figures Toriel would much rather talk about Papyrus. Not that he would blame her - he himself could talk hours and hours about his wonderful brother.

"Right."

"See!" She smiled, as if that answer was any good for this situation. "You are going to the God's… or is it Ebott?... To the city, right? Take me with you, please!"

"Why? Maybe you aren't a mortal, but you still not a God. Last time we let a Demigod into the city, disaster happened." He didn't actually care, but this girl was amusing so far so he was curious what she'll say.

"My mother is dying."

That wiped the smile from his face.

"What?" Suddenly, all the pieces of a puzzle he was mulling over lately came together, and the reason behind all that he observed were much worse than he could ever anticipate.

"Toriel... She fell down." Frisk bit her lip, her eyes sparkling with new forming tears.

"What happened?" His posture changed entirely - face became serious, voice lower and even air got colder around them.

"Can we, maybe, talk on the way there?" She motioned to the direction of the mountain top.

Sans could've get them there in a blink of an eye, but a walk while her words sank in sounded nice, so he just nodded.

"Are you sure she fell down?" Reaper asked when they began to move.

"Yes. She told me stories how she couldn't heal those who fell down, and it sounded exactly like what happened to her."

"But _what_ happened? Even after she left the King and others, her hope was higher than ever."

"I don't know." Frisk shook her head fiercely, trying to blink the tears away. "Everything was just like usual, but then she started to feel worse and worse, as if something was draining her power. I tried to talk her into seeing other Gods, but..."

He frowned. "She hates everyone that much, huh?" He mumbled under his breath.

"No, it's just... She can be very stubborn sometimes."

"I see." Sans looked ahead. "Something drained her power, huh? That can only be work of a God, which means..." He stopped in his tracks, his eye sockets empty. "... war."

"Wait-" She grabbed his cloak, making him violently jerk away, his face a scowl and left eye flashing with blue flame.

" **D o n o t g r a b m e** "

Frisk stiffened, holding her hand close to her chest with a look of shame on her face.

"S-sorry..." She said in a small voice, looking down.

For a few moments they remained silent as Frisk watched grass under his feet turn black, panic raising in her chest, until she heard him let out a deep breath.

"Don't do that." He said in more passive voice, adjusting the hood on his skull.

"I'm sorry..."

"Sure, sure. What you wanted to say?" He tried to change the topic.

"If my mom dies, world will crumble anyway." Sans winced at her sad voice, looking at her only to find that she still stared on the ground, hands pressed to her chest.

"I know. And I'll have so much work I'll never hear the end of it from my brother." 

He contemplated, for a second, if he should take her with him. Showing her to the King was out of the question - old goat would lose all his hope himself the seconds he hears the news, but he didn't want to just leave her like that, even after her grabby hands.

Talking about grabbing hands… he will have to do that.  _ Ugh. _

_ No big deal, just touch her and go. _

He sighed and extended his hand towards her.

She flinched, before looking at it with confusion.

"What-"

"I know a quick way up." He winked at her.

Hesitantly, her hand rose to meet his. Warm fingers sled into the cold skeletal ones before shadows overtook them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meet cute! Who would've guessed Frisk would be the one to attack and grab Sans. Come on Frisky, you were raised better than this.
> 
> Next chapter: skeleton takes Frisk on a ride and then she gets lost again


	3. Our Duty

Her worst nightmare - darkness.

Frisk felt as if her body was melting, becoming one with the shadows and dark and  _ nothing _ , and then felt the sudden pull of something powerful, guiding her through the unknown only to stop just as abruptly and release her to become whole again.

And it all happened in a span of a single second.

When her eyes flew open she was in front of a pair of huge white marble doors, beautiful curved images adoring its surfaces.

"W-what was t-that?.." Frisk looked at her companion, her body shaking from shock after the unfamiliar experience, hand clutching his boney fingers almost painfully.

"Shadow traveling." Sans looked calm and collected as ever, like he didn't just put her through a nightmare. He unceremoniously shook his hand out of hers. "The best way to travel around if you ask me."

_ I would rather go down the mountain and back up with my feet tied together if it meant not experiencing this ever again. _

"And we are?.."

"Before the door to the Throne room."

Frisk blinked before looking back at the huge set of doors.

"Oh." She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Oh?" Reaper mimicked her. "Did you expect something more grand?"

"No, I, uh, I just thought... It's silly, so don't worry." She already embarrassed herself in front of him not less than five minutes ago and she did not want to look like an idiot again.

From the corner of her eye she could see his smug smile, but she was determined not to look him in the eye... sockets.

"You wanted to see the city first, am I right?" He said as if he read her mind. Could he do that? He was a God, yes, but so was her mother, and _thankfully_ she didn't posses such power.

The Demigoddess stiffened, her face turning into a little pout and eyes drilling into the door.

"I thought your mission was time-sensitive." He continued to mock her.

"I know!" Frisk crossed arms in front of her chest. "I told you it was silly."

"Heh. Don't worry, you didn't miss much. Its just a giant hunk of white and _boring_ , trying to be big and impressive." Skeleton waved his hand dismissively.

"... you are talking just like my mom."

"I do? See, means it's right. Wait here, I-"

"Wait!" She didn't grab him this time, but made a move to stand in front of the doors. "I'm coming too!"

"Really?" He lifted his bone brow. "And what are you going to say?"

"The same thing I told you."

Sans looked at her more, as if trying to understand if she was joking or not.

"What do you know about the King?"

Frisk thought back to all the stories she heard from her mother. All of them that concerned the King were cut very short and just were unflattering in general.

"Not much? Mostly what a scum of the Earth and Skies he is."

Sans couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Wow, kiddo, you really never met any other Gods."

"How do you know?"

"There's no doubt, I don't know why I thought otherwise, considering you are talking to me." Sans shook his head with a smile.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked genuinely surprised.

"You can't tell?" Reaper said in a cold voice that would sent chills down any mortal's skin.

"I just met you."

"... right. And now I need you to wait here."

"But why?"

"King..." Sans nodded in the direction of the door. "... not really fond of the humans. He may not even listen to you, no matter what you have to say."

Demigoddess pursed her lips. Looks like her mother was right on this one.

"... and maybe it would be better if we don't tell him about Life's state."

That surprised her. "Why?"

"Well, they _were_ married, and, by laws, still are. Don't know about your mom, but old King over there misses her, and last thing we need right now is for both of our rulers to fall down."

She blinked in confusion. "Why are we here then?"

"I did promise my brother to talk to the King." Sans shrugged. "After that we'll go consult someone else."

Frisk wasn't sure if she could trust him - despite his little outburst earlier and that freaky shadow-ride, this God didn't seem antagonistic towards her, despite having almost opposite powers to her and her mother's magic. She had one more question she was hesitant to ask, afraid the Reaper will reconsider everything and just leave her.

Gathering enough determination, she voiced it out.

"Why are you helping me?"

Sans looked surprised by her question before his features softened and he let out a sigh.

"Look, kid, despite what you may think about reapers, we don't want humans dying so much. It's just more work, really. Without the Goddess of Life in the picture the world will crumble, and that's not what we want either. It's all about the balance." He gestured at the carvings on the doors, portraying the Gods in all shapes and forms. "Every God matters, otherwise the whole world won't stay peaceful for long."

"... Does it mean it's my mom's fault? Because she left?" Frisk frowned.

"She may have abandoned her post as a Queen, but she still held her duties as the Goddess of Life." Reaper shook his skull. "Buttercup, I'll answer all your questions later, I didn't joke about the amount of work me and brother have, and I really don't want to leave him hanging while I just rattle my bones here."

Before she could say anything else, Sans already slipped between the big doors into the throne room.

_ Do I really need to wait for him? _ Frisk thought, staring at the door and images it offered. She quickly spotted her mother right above the huge delta rune symbol, standing hand-in-hand with someone else - she presumed King.

Under the delta rune stood other Gods - some fish-looking creature with a spear in hand standing over big whale-looking thing; happy bunny near such sad looking cat that it was almost comical; small lizard with glasses and... empty space.

Demigoddess frowned. The whole door was adored with images of big and small monsters, but this one place was completely empty, as if something used to be there but then got erased.

Other peculiar thing was that Frisk couldn't spot Sans or someone else resembling a reaper anywhere.

_ Huh. _

No matter how fascinating her surroundings were, Frisk quickly grew bored, longing to take a better look around.

_ Sans won't get angry if I go out for a bit, right? _ Her mother never scolded her for this, and she didn't promise the skeleton anything either. So it won't be bad, right?

_ Right? _

* * *

If she could say anything about the palace, she would say that it was big. Big and empty.

She was slowly walking across the big bright hall with golden glass-stained windows and huge columns. Beautiful, sure, but still so empty.

Frisk didn't know what to expect, but this... was kind of a let down. Looks like her mother and Sans were right - palace was filled with riches with no soul behind it.

_ Maybe city is not. It has to be different, right? _

Holding onto that hope, she quickened her pace and started to look for an exit.

Long corridors and big ballrooms started to look alike in Frisk's eyes, and soon she realised that she got lost. At some point she started to almost run, hoping that she can at least make it back to the bright golden corridor or, better, the big doors, and Sans won't know she was gone.

Too bad she didn't manage to do that.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rang the voice behind her that managed to send her sins crawling on her back. Turning around, Demigoddess stood face-to-face with the Reaper.

"B-back." She managed to squeak out.

"Buttercup, when I _command_ people to do something, they usually have the brains to do _exactly that_." His left eye flashed with blue fire for a second.

Frisk gulped, suppressing the urge to take a few steps back.

"What? I just went around for a bit." She tried to play tough.

"Right now is not the time to run around." Sans growled. "Who knows how other Gods will react if they spot you? My guess is -  _ badly. _ "

"I didn't meet anyone! I didn't even see anyone..." Frisk looked around with a faint sadness. "It's so empty."

"I told you that." Reaper let out a sigh, cooling down from his angry state. "Buttercup, if you want to help your mother, you need to start listening to me."

She frowned at the mention of Toriel. Sans was right - she came here because her mom needed help, and her wandering around aimlessly only hindered her chances of getting any.

"Alright... after you answer me one more question."

The expression on his face looked sour, but he nodded for her to go on.

"Why are you calling me Buttercup?" She raised a brow when he barked a laugh.

"I found you laying in the buttercups, so you might as well be one." His face lit up and smile widened, before he quickly added. "Also, you got golden petals in your hair."

"What?!" _This whole time?!_ Her hands flied to her hair, calming through it with the erratic movements while Sans laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what? I live. And if you lived to see this chapter... Next one is more interesting, I promise.  
> Also I think Sans calling Frisk 'Buttercup' is very cute
> 
> Next chapter: our heroes consult an expert and Sans reminiscents about all the times he traumatized said expert


	4. Wonders of the workshop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative name of this chapter is 'Goodbye, sweet death prince'

He couldn't remember last time he laughed like that.

"That's enough, Buttercup." Sans finally managed to calm down and waved at the frustrated Demigoddess who was still messing with her hair.

"You could've told me sooner!" She said accusingly with red blush blooming on her cheeks.

"Where's the fun in that?" He smirked and extended his hand to her with more enthusiasm than last time. "Let's go, kid. There's only one God that might know how to help Life."

To his surprise, Frisk froze, looking at his hand like anyone else would look - scared. He frowned, not expecting to get that look from her.

Did she not like touching others as well? But she tried grabbing him earlier, she it was probably not the case. Did she finally realize that touching the God of Death couldn't bring anything good?

"Buttercup?"

"... do we really have to do that again?" Her voice was tense as if he offered her to go watch people die in agony while he casually collected their souls.

"Yes. We are in a hurry, remember?" He frowned.

"I do..." She bit her lip and slowly slid her fingers in his before gripping his hand like a vice, making him grit his teeth.

"Easy there, you'll break my bones." He wiggled his fingers in her grasp.

"Sorry." Her grip loosened, but, to his annoyance, not by much.

"Didn't enjoy the ride?" Sans hummed. Well, not every day he offered someone a trip through the shadows with him, but her repulsiveness wasn't much of a surprise. He doubted Life would like it either.

"It's alright, I can do this." She pursed her lips and closed eyes shut. "Let's go!"

Deciding not to prolong the suspense, Sans pulled her through the shadows right to the home of the Goddess of Intelligence and Science.

In a blink of an eye they were transported to the different place. He didn't bate an eyelash (since he didn't even have those), but felt how girl grabbed his hand more forcefully.

"We are here, Buttercup."

She slowly opened her eyes and gasped in awe, taking in the surroundings.

Sans smiled knowingly. He took them to the workplace \- aha room which was filled with a lot kind of wonders: scrolls of divine magic and knowledge more ancient than the stars, potion vials of different shapes and colours, and small artifacts that still held Godly magic.

Sans always liked this place. He remembered the times when he would sneak in here to take a book to read or fumble with some little artifact (unfortunately breaking it in the process and swiping the fragments somewhere where they would be found long after he was gone) or pulling pranks on the impressionable Goddess to the point that she still thought some spirit was haunting her.

Ah, the good old times when the world wasn't falling apart and he wasn't swamped with skele _tons_ of work.

He watched as Frisk looked around with excitement painted on her face clear as day. It even seemed that glow around her skin became a bit brighter. Looking at her enthusiasm, he couldn't help but smile as well.

The joyful moment ended when a sharp shriek ringed all the way through the room. Demigoddess jumped up, but Sans didn't even flinch, accustomed to those kinds of things, and turned in the direction the sound came from.

"Hello, Alphys." Skeleton said nonchalantly, giving her a smile that would probably just creep her out even more.

In the corner of his eye socket he could see how Frisk bristled before quickly scattering behind his back. He thought she would be more friendly, judging by the way she acted around him. Apparently he really managed to scare her when it came to other Gods.

He didn't really regret it.

"S-s-sans..." Little lizard Goddess stuttered, nervously fumbling her hands in front of her. "D-do you n-need anything?.."

_ Not even a greeting. Typical. _

"Yes I do." He decided to go straight to the point. "We need your help."

Goddess froze. "W-we?.."

Sans stepped aside, revealing a woman standing behind him. "Yes. That's Frisk. Frisk-"

He was interrupted by another shriek, but this time it sounded excited and scared _him_ for a change.

"A human!!!"

... maybe he shouldn't have brought Frisk with him.

Alphys made her way to them faster than he would've manage through his shadows and stared at the confused-looking Frisk with a happy glean in her eyes behind the small glasses, not even paying attention how close she came to Sans. That had to be the closest proximity he ever saw lizard Goddess.

"Hello?" Frisk said sheepishly while Alphys was busy staring at her, well, _everything_.

Goddess didn't say anything, just squealed happily.

"My name is Frisk..." Girl slowly mumbled, feeling uncomfortable under such intense stare. "And you?.."

That might've snapped lizard monster from her daze - she jumped back, fumbling with her hands and robes again.

"Oh! Sorry, sorry, I just- I haven't seen any humans in such a long time!" She giggled nervously. "I am Alphys." Her smile looked more like a very uncomfortable scowl.

"Nice to meet you." Frisk's smile, on the other hand, looked warm and pleasant.

Sans cleared his throat.

"She aren't just a human, she is Life's daughter."

Suddenly reminded of his presence, Alphys jumped back even more before her head snapped back to Frisk.

"Y-you are a Demigoddess?"

Both Sans and Frisk tensed, waiting for her reaction.

"That's wonderful!!"

... which was not what he expected at all, and, judging by the look on Frisk's face, she didn't either.

"Oh, I never saw a Demigod so close before!!" And just like that Alphys was all around her again. "What are your powers? Do you control them well? Can I see your soul-"

"Alphys!" Sans stepped closer to the girl, making Goddess freeze and take a step back again.

"Yes, umm, sorry..." She awkwardly turned her back to them and started to move some stuff she had on one of the tables. "Sorry my place is s-such is mess, I didn't expect g-guests..."

"It's alright! It looks very interesting!" Frisk composed herself as well.

Alphys didn't say anything at that, just started to move her hands faster.

"S-so what kind of help do you need?"

Demigoddess turned to Sans with a questioning look and he gave her a short nod, so she began speaking.

"My mother, the Goddess of Life, she is... she... she fell down."

Alphys instantly froze before slowly turning back to them with a horrified expression.

"S-s-sh-she w-what?.." Her eyes jumped between the both of them, as if she tried to see if they were serious.

"Things are very bad in the human world right now." Sans continued. "We need to find a way to bring Life back as fast as possible, before it's too late."

Alphys looked like she will fall apart any second.

"B-b-bu-bu-but-but-but she is Life!" She gripped her head with her hands, making a motion like she wanted to pull on her hair that she never had. "How is that even-"

"We don't know." Skeleton shook his head. "But we don't have the time to ponder that now, at first we need to bring her back. Do you have any ideas?"

Her whole body visibly shook, eyes looking at nothing.

"Of-of course not!! Do you know how my last experiments like this ended?! You do!" She shrieked. Sans winced - he didn't want to bring up the amalgametes. "It was horrible, horrible! But this?! If I ruin this, that would be the end! How can I..." She began to cry, whimpering incoherent words under her breath.

Sans frowned. Out of all emotional reactions he or his mere presence caused, he hated seeing tears the most. After hundreds of years he still couldn't shake off that uncomfortable feeling every time he saw them.

While he just stood around, Frisk took a step forward and placed her hand on Alphys' shoulder.

"Please, don't say that." Demigoddess gave her a warm reassuring smile. "We have a chance to save Toriel, and we have to take it."

Alphys only curled in herself more.

"Any idea - anything at all - will be better than nothing. So please, do you think you can help us?" Frisk pressed on.

Goddess was quiet, only letting out whimpers now and then, while Frisk kept gently patting her back. After a while, lizard monster still shook, but less so. She gave a jerky nod, quickly hiding her muzzle in her tiny hands.

"Y-yes... I c-can't just s-sit and-d-d do nothing." She hiccuped. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize." Frisk smiled softly. "I am scared too, but we have to stay strong if we want to help her."

_ That was really something, kid. _ Sans thought and chuckled under his breath. No, it was a good thing he brought her with him.

After a while Alphys seemed to calm down with the help of Frisk and her gentle pats.

"I m-m-may have a t-thing that w-will help-p." Goddess stuttered, making her way between rows of tables. She started to look for something, throwing around precious artifacts like useless junk in her search for the right item. It seemed she grew more irritated and anxious, because she actually started to throw things around quite far.

_ She's been spending too much time around Undyne. _

"It has to be here!" Alphys whined anxiously. "Oh, wait!" She seemed to come to the realization and scrambled to get to another table, from which she snatched a bug yellow crystal sphere. "Show me the red potion in my room."

"What is she doing?" Frisk whispered to him while her eyes were still locked onto the Goddess, who wheezed something like 'no, another red!'.

"It's one of her most valuable artifacts." Sans mumbled back to her. "Sphere of Sight. Allows her to see anything or anyone she desires from any direction."

"Oh wow. Everything?"

"If it's not obstructed by magic or any counter artifacts." He remembered the time Asgore tried to search where his Queen run off to, but it was all futile - he couldn't even find her trace. Skeleton wasn't surprised - Toriel did have powerful shielding magic.

"What about other artifacts?"

"From important ones? There's Soul Reader, which tells you all about the soul and its consistency, Metal-bending glove that allows you to shape metal in any way you want, and, uhh, there's some little doll of monster that looks half-human half-cat-like that Alphys claims as her another great artifact, but I don't know what it does."

Frisk let out a quiet giggle.

"And all of these? They aren't important?"

Sans swept a room with his gaze, trying to spot anything familiar.

"These are artifacts, but smaller ones. Something like a chalice that produces everlasting supply of some kind of food... Alphys calls it 'noodles'."

"Wow..." Frisk breathed out and looked at him. "I don't think my mom has any artifacts back at home... Maybe flower crown that never wilts?"

He shrugged. "That's counts."

"Do you have any?"

"Of course." His smile widened. He wasn't the type to display his wealth, given that the whole Underworld was filled with gems and riches that fell meaningless in his eye sockets, but the look of curiosity and awe that Demigoddess was giving him made him _want_ to impress her. "Me and my brother have our scythes-"

"Found it!" Loud shout interrupted him, followed by pitter-patter of lizard's feet as Alphys approached them, clenching a vile of deeply red liquid in her claws. "This m-might help the Queen." She held out the potion to Frisk.

"What's this?" Sans never was a fan of potions. He didn't have much  _ stomach _ for them, and the unknown nature of its brewing made him distrust it and, by extension, the person who was offering it.

"I-it's something I call 'last dream'." Alphys cleared her throat and looked away, as if she was embarrassed by her naming skills. No one could beat King in that regard, though. "It should bring Queen's hope back. G-give it to her a couple times every d-day in very little doses." She showed a small gap with her fingers.

Frisk looked at the Goddess with high intensity, absorbing every single word she was saying. When Alphys finished talking, she expected the given vial, sliding her thumb across the glass, before she practically jumped on Alphys, hugging her shoulders.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Laughter bubbled from her chest while corners of her eyes sparkled with newformed tears. "You can't imagine how much I appreciate your help!"

Alphys bristled in her embrace, scales on her face redder than the potion.

"You sure it will help?" Sans remained skeptical.

"M-m-m-ma-ma-me-may-b-be..." Frisk let the dazzled Goddess go when she noticed her state. "I-it's the b-best I have..."

"Great!" Woman's voice was practically singing with joy when she turned to Sans. "We can go now, right?? I really want to give this to my mom as fast as possible!"

Reaper's gaze returned to the potion for one second, still unsure, but after a moment he nodded. He didn't have any reasons to distrust Alphys. The thing that was concerning him was the color of the potion.

Red. Just like souls of determination he collected from mortals. And Alphys' past experiments in that field...

"Sans?"

He blinked and found that Frisk was staring at him - her hand making a motion like she wanted to pull his sleeve but stopping, probably because of the warning he gave her not so long ago.

"Yes." Whatever. He didn't have a lot of options anyway, and what could he know about keeping someone alive when his job was to bring end to it? He _had_ to trust her. "Thank you, Alphys. See you later." Was all he said before gently grasping Demigoddess' hand and slipping into the shadows.

He pulled them away in the place where they met less than a day ago, although he must admit it felt much, much longer than that.

"Oh, that tree? And flowers?" Frisk seemed much less shook after this particular shadow ride, probably because she was too determined to bring the newfound medicine to her mother. "Can't we go somewhere closer..."

"Buttercup, I can only go through shadows to the places I know or have seen before." He chuckled. "And how would I know where this 'closer' is?"

"Oh. Alright. I want to thank you, Sans-"

"It's fine, Buttercup. I glad I found you where I did… right here." They both smiled.

"What are you going to do now? Help your brother?"

"Pretty much."

"Good luck, to both of you."

"Uh..." He wasn't sure how to answer that, he never heard something like that in his direction, so mumbled an unsure 'thank you'.

It got quiet for a moment, both of them staring at each other with an awkwardness that no mortals would ever expect from Gods.

"Sans, will we ever meet again?" Frisk finally spoke up.

"Don't know. Let's hope circumstances won't be inclined with my job."

"Yes." That put a smile on her face.

He rarely had company, but today's was rather fun, despite the horrid situation and a few bumps here and there. Skeleton felt bad, just leaving her without a sign of any more interactions in sight in less than a hundred years.

A thought hit him. He didn't have the chance to tell her what kind of artifacts he has in his possession, but right now he could share one.

"Hey, Buttercup, wait up."

She looked at him with curiosity as he pulled out a little pendant in a shape of a blaster skeletal head from between his cloak .

"This little thing will allow us to talk at great distance. Just put it on and hold it in your hand when you want to reach out for me." Reaper gave her a wink.

"T-thank you..." She said, her shiny eyes not leaving her new small artifact.

"I must go. See you on the other side, Buttercup." Sans smiled one last time before shadows swept him away, feeling more light that he could remember in the last hundred years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton got reduced to a glove  
> 'Last dream' is the name of the item you heal with in the Asriel battle in the game. They are also still in your inventory after the battle, and If you drip the item it says you threw your dream away. Sad.  
> Also, I said in the previous chapter that this one is gonna be interesting? I reread it before posting... and it was a lie. As you saw.
> 
> Next chapter: discord voice chat - God edition


	5. A star for your thoughts

Frisk couldn't tell if potion was working.

When she climbed back down to her home, Toriel still wasn't conscious. She was in a deep sleep, her breathing faint but thankfully still there.

Frisk gave small portions of the cure to her every day, suppressing the urge to give her a much bigger dose, if not the whole potion.

Her mother always told her that true healing takes time. Frisk knew it, she did... but she couldn't help but worry that there were no changes in Toriel's state that she could see.

There was also another thing... She didn't know why, but every time she took the potion vial in her hands or even looked at it, she had the growing desire to try it herself.

Maybe it was the deep captivating red. Maybe it was it's bright colorful shine of the vial in the light. Maybe it was a melodic sound of splashing liquid. Or maybe it was just her ever present curiosity.

Frisk truly didn't know. She knew better than succumb to such desire - she remembered how her godly mother scolded her when she sneaked away one of her healing potions, telling her that she should never drink one without a cause. She knew better... but temptation was still there, and it was growing rapidly.

To distract herself from the stress-filled thoughts swarming her head, Demigoddess was busying herself maintaining the house. She swept the floor, wiped every nook and cranny, kept everything tidy and clean. 

She tried her hand at baking just like her mother taught her, but all the pies she made were much less tasty, as if they were lacking Goddess' touch… Or the love she put into each and every one. Besides that, Frisk just felt sad whenever she ate the pie all alone. Well, not completely alone - she always had a little diary where she wrote various interesting things that had happened in her life. After going to a small journey up the mountain and meeting not one but two Gods... her monotone pages breathed with new life.

Without Toriel's fire magic, Demigoddess had to collect wood to light the fireplace. She always felt bad burning twigs into ash, but she had no other choice if she wanted to keep the house warm. Thankfully, she didn't have to chop down any trees - there were enough branches laying around from the dying ones.

It... wasn't good, but she tried to look at the positive side of things.

Another thing that concerned Frisk was nature that just kept getting worse. Her fibble hope was that it was simply Toriel's lack of consciousness that worsened the state of the world, not the fact that her hope kept waning and potion didn't work...

But again, look at the positive side of things. It was all Frisk could do if she wanted to retain her own hope.

Demigoddess tried to use her power to at least keep the plants around her house alive and healthy. She would walk every morning and every evening around them, making sure they were green and well - the sight that brought the feeling of calm into her soul. She would brush her right hand across the leaves, while her left clenched a little pendant.

Frisk knew she didn't need to wear it all the time, but she did, even reluctant to take it off before she goes to bed. She didn't talk with Sans yet, afraid she would only be a bother, especially right now, when death toll of the land kept growing rapidly. She felt a bit shy as well, not sure what kinds of things she could discuss with him.

From the faint memories of her human life she could recall having friends, even though she could not remember their faces or names anymore. After she became a demigoddess, the only friends she had were her dear mother and the animals that inhibited the forest. She could still meet humans, but not more than one time, making it impossible to be friends with them.

Toriel said it was for the better. Humans had such short lives after all.

She had only seen Sans one time as well, but there was an unspoken promise and hope that they would meet again. Despite making fun of her at first, he seemed to enjoy her company, and she enjoyed his, even after that little outburst he had after she tried to grab his sleeve. It was her fault - she should've known better.

After their meeting she tried to recall any stories her mother told her about Reapers and the Underworld, but couldn't remember any specifics. She searched for any books, but, as she predicted - she came empty handed - Toriel didn't keep the books about other Gods, she didn't know why she thought she would find anything.

In that light, she decided to judge him herself, and in her eyes Sans seemed like a good, fun person. She noticed how Alphys reacted to him, and his own continuous comments how she would probably be afraid of him if she knew better suggested that he didn't have the best reputation. His appearance was probably off-putting for the most people, but Frisk found the living skeleton fascinating.

His eyes were really pretty as well. Well, when he didn't turn them off and lit one of his sockets on fire.

He even gave her a pendant so she can talk to him. An artifact! Frisk spend hours looking at it, gently tracing the weird skull shape with her fingers. She even drew it in her diary, imagining what kind of creature it represented.

Wolf? Goat? Dragon? She bet it was a dragon - her dragon sketch was the prettiest one.

She was itching to try it out, use it, see if she would hear Sans' voice... but every time her hand closed around it, she decided against it.

Days went by. Almost half of the potion was gone, but Frisk still didn't see any changes, which was nerve-wracking.

But she finally decided to talk with Sans.

_ Here goes nothing. _ Demigoddess sat on the bed, fumbling with the pendant for a few minutes before taking a deep breath and grasping it firmly.

"Sans? Can you hear me?"

Silence.

Her heart fell. Did she call out to him in wrong time? Did it not work inside of the Barrier? Did he lie to her or forgot her or-

"I thought you'd never call, Buttercup."

She felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Sans?"

"Who else would it be?" Deep voice chuckle rumbled in her years. It sounded like he was right beside her, unseen but present.

"You aren't busy, are you?" She bit back her tongue, trying to push back the excitement she felt. He actually answered!

"Good God always busy. Good thing I am not that good."

She didn't know he was working his bony ass off even this very moment, but she didn't need to know.

"I think you are pretty great."

"How do you know?"

"You didn't want to leave your brother do all the work."

"I just didn't want him to yell at me for being lazy... again."

She snorted. "A God? Lazy?"

"Like I said, Buttercup, I am not that good of a God."

Full circle.

"Fine, fine, but one day I'll prove you otherwise."

"Tough luck." He sounded like he didn't believe her, but decided to go with it. "Anyways, how's Life doing?"

Smile on her face quickly disappeared.

"Badly. I don't think potion is working. I don't see any changes, and everything around keeps dying."

"I noticed that." He huffed. "No changes, huh?"

"Yes. Do you think I don't give her enough potion? I give her exactly how Alphys said."

"Then that should be enough."

"Don't you know any other Gods that might help?" Frisk squeezed pendant harder, so hard that sharp edges of it started to dig into her skin.

"No. Your mother was best in business, but after she left the others everyone turned to Alphys for the medicine and healing."

"... I see." She sighed, failing to disguise the sadness in her voice. She didn't try very hard though. "Do you think there's anything I can do to help?"

"You do enough, Buttercup. Right now you just have to wait and stop  _ dying _ over it."

She blinked.

"Did you... did you just make a joke?"

"I did." Sans said, amused. "I got a skele _ ton _ of them."

She couldn't help but snort.

"You... really... just..." Demigoddess shook her head, trying to hold back bubbling laughter in her chest.

"What? Did I tickle your  _ funny bone _ ?"

That was it - she couldn't hold back anymore and erupted into melodic laughter.

"Heh. So, you like jokes, kid?" Reaper sounded pleased.

"That's what I should be asking you!" She exclaimed, catching her breath.

"You can't call me kid. I am centuries older than you."

"Oh? Should I call you 'old man' then?" She bit back.

" **It's the God you are speaking with** ." His tone suddenly turned from cheerful to chilling, making Frisk shut her mouth and fall into silence. "... did I scare you?"

"N-no, you didn't." She forced her shoulders to relax 

"You are stuttering." He sounded amused, but she couldn't shake of the chills she felt.

"It's just cold."

"Right, right." He totally didn't believe her.

"I- You probably have a lot of work, I'll leave you to it." A hasty retreat, but she didn't think of anything else to say.

"Oh. Alright, Buttercup. Talk to you later then."

"Yes, goodbye!" She let go of the pendant and, in a rush of anxiety, took it off and threw it at the bedside table, flopping onto her bed in process.

It was going so well but she just had to make him angry! What she was even thinking?! Of course he was a God! She didn't dare even speak with her mother this way, and this was a God, a God of Death!

He didn't seem that angry. And he did say they should talk later. He even sounded a little disappointed. So that was good, right?..

This 'later' came a couple of days afterwards, when Frisk made her rounds around the plants and let out a sigh when another bush shed its leaves.

"What's the matter?"

Sudden voice made her squeak and jump back, frantically looking around for its source.

"Buttercup?"

"Oh, Sans..." Frisk didn't realise she grabbed the pendant in her hand. Maybe she shouldn't have developed the habit of holding it. "Hello."

"Did I scare you again?"

"No, I just didn't expect to hear you..."

"But you are holding the pendant, aren't you?"

"Yes..."

"There.  _ Flower _ you today, Buttercup?"

"I am…" He didn't sound mad or anything, so Frisk decided to just carry on. "... fine. You?"

"Same old, work. I take it Toriel still the same?"

"Yes."

"... you sure you are fine?"

Frisk sighed. "I am as fine as someone can be when the world falls apart."

Sans didn't say anything at that.

"You venture to the human world a lot, right?" Demigoddess asked him suddenly.

"I do. Me and my brother are the only Gods allowed to roam mortal realm."

"I know that. Can you tell me... what do you see? Are things so bad everywhere or just here?"

He hesitated. How could he say to her that the closer to the mountain the better things were? That humans already deemed that apocalypse was upon them?

"Things are... not great. That's why we have to hope Life gets better."

"Alright… one more thing, Sans."

"What is it?"

"I'm… sorry. For the last time." She bit her lip and closed her eyes, anticipating God's response.

"For what?" He sounded confused.

"For offending you…"

"Pffft…" She heard him huff. "Buttercup, I didn't think nothing about that. I heard much, much worse, believe me. Don't worry about a thing."

"But-"

"Besides, it was a joke, right? I am not that dense, I get them."

"Yes, it was…" She was so relieved...

" **_But one more joke like that, and I…_ ** " He chuckled darkly. "I'll call you something else than 'Buttercup'. 'Shortie', that will do."

"Hey! You are the one to ta-" Frisk bit back her tongue, but it was too late.

"... that's it."

"No."

" _ Shortie. _ "

"I… I will call you something too, then!" Demigoddess puffed up.

"You wouldn't dare." She could imagine him smirking.

"I'll call you… ugh…" It was harder than she thought. "... skeleton…"

"Brilliant. Sans, Sans the Skeleton."

"I didn't finish! Um… Comic…"

"Comic Sa-"

"Stop! Let me finish!"

"Give it up, Buttercup."

She pouted, but didn't feel all that bad when she heard him laugh. Thanks the stars he truly wasn't mad at her.

From that point on they began to talk more frequently, at first only talking about the grim situation they, along with the whole world, were stuck in, but slowly their conversations morphed into something else. Sometimes Frisk would even forget all her anxieties and just laugh happily at Reaper's jokes, even at more darker ones.

Company was nice, even when it was unseen.

\---

"So you are a Demigoddess of... plants."

"Don't put it like that." Frisk huffed, trying to prop up a sapling using one hand. "I didn't figure out all of my powers yet."

"That's a compliment, Buttercup." She heard Sans chuckle. "It's impressive a mortal can have control over any magic at all."

"But I know I can do more!" She insisted. "How did you know you were God of Justice as well?"

"Because I hold trials in the Underworld."

"Oh... What about your brother?"

"Papyrus? He is God of Merciful Death."

"Merciful?"

"Yes. Quick and painless."

"And you..."

"I do what has to be done." Sans tried to sound indifferent, but something in his voice seemed distant.

"And you… are okay with that?" Frisk frowned.

"After hundreds of years you get used to it." He shrugged it off. "In the meantime I get to rule the whole Underworld. Nice deal."

"I heard that its... dark down there." She involuntary shivered.

"Well, it's underground, so of course it's going to be dark." Sans huffed. "But not how you might expect it. All rooms in our castle are lit."

"Castle? Is it big, like the King's?" Frisk remembered the rooms upon rooms that seemed endless and endlessly boring.

"Not that big, but way prettier." 

"Oh really?"

"Yes. You don't believe me?"

"I don't know. You just have to show it to me one day." Her lips twisted into a smile when she heard him smirk.

"Deal."

\---

"Where did you get this pendant?" Frisk asked, gently sliding her thumb across the said jewelry. She was sitting in her room and staring at the drawing she made. She was no artist, but she thought she managed to portray it pretty great.

"My brother made it. He wanted us to be able to communicate with each other."

She blinked in confusion. "Why did you give it to me then? Don't you need it to talk to Papyrus?"

"I, uh, can do that." Sans muttered awkwardly. "We can hear each other through our schythes. I just never told him before he made the pendants. I thought he'll just scold me more."

Frisk couldn't help but laugh.

"Why are you the Underworld ruler again?"

" **You really want to know the answer?"**

"Sure." Even his dark voice didn't spook her anymore - sometimes he just liked to indulge in his questionable reputation and play the scary guy role.

"I am older." Was his answer, proving her point.

She snorted. "But why the pendant shaped like that?"

"Gaster Blaster? It's a weapon of ours... And a pet. Sort of."

"A pet?"

"You have seen dogs, right?"

"Of course." Whenever she passed a human village, local dogs would surround her and demand some attention and pats. A lot of pats.

"Imagine a dog, but it's a skeleton?" He kept his wonky explanation.

"A skeleton of a dog?" She winced. She really didn't want to imagine that.

"Yes, but it's head is just like the pendant."

She stared at it, trying to picture that.

"O-okay?"

"And now... Imagine it got three heads like these."

"Oh." It just kept getting better.

"Oh, and also it's a size of a small house."

"What??"

"Paps called him Cerberus."

"That sounds..."  _ Monsterous for sure _ .

"He may look intimidating, but he is just a big softie. You just have to meet him and you'll see." Sans said casually.

"Alright, I believe you."

"... if he isn't hungry. Such long time passed since the last time he ate mortals."

"Sans!"

"Just warning you." Contrary to his words, he erupted into laughter.

\---

"Do you talk with a lot of humans?"

"Is that jealousy that I hear, mhhm?" Sans crooned.

"No." Frisk rolled her eyes but smiled. "Curiosity."

"Heh. No. Corpses don't talk last time I checked, and if they do… no sense to talk with cursed folk."

"Oh, I see…"

"Well, I did talk with some humans. Sometimes, when I come to claim a soul, I can overlook… children."

"Children?"

"Yes. They don't understand, and most of them are fearful of me, as they should, but I met a few that… weren't. I still remember them, all six."

"Did you talk to them after?.."

"No." He let out a sad chuckle. "I am the God of Death. If any living mortal sees me, they are seen as 'cursed' and doomed by others. I am already taking their lives, no need to ruin them when they're alive as well."

His voice was lined with such sadness and loneliness that she was taken aback.

"I'm sorry…"

"For what? Not your fault."

"It's… so  _ unfair! _ " She swallowed lump that formed in her throat. "You don't curse anyone!"

"No, but, you know, my touch kills life instantly. That doesn't inspire trust in mortals. Or Gods, for that matter."

He was so alone, that fact was undeniable to her. All he had was his brother and his job for all eternity.

And when she saves her mother… she may be caged the same way.

She lied on the ground for a long time after their conversation, looking up at the skies and watching clouds go by.

Sans seemed content… no - he seemed to  _ accept  _ his fate and his duty, executing it with pride. But she… She had no role in this world.

_ I have no purpose, not until I discover my powers.  _ Her magic was only good for bringing nature back to life - something that her mother could do already. What if there was nothing else in her?

What if she  _ never _ had a place amongst the God kind?

Frisk turned to the side and curled on herself.

_ I wonder if other Gods hate me not because of Chara, but because they understand how unnecessary I am. _

She wondered if he thought it too.

\---

"Isn't it late for you, Buttercup?"

"How do you know?" Indeed, it was nighttime. Frisk usually would be in her bed or curled besides some light source, but tonight she went on a night stroll. Full moon was out, making the forest seem less scary and more mysterious, and her mind was once again plagued with worried thoughts that didn't let her sleep.

"Are you outside in the above world as well?" She asked him.

"Maybe." Demigoddess frowned - Sans always liked to give her cryptic answers when it came to him or his doings.

"I am just on a little night stroll." She decided to let it slide, this time.

"I thought you were scared of the dark."

That surprised her. He actually remembered that?

"Y-yes, but it's not  _ that _ dark." She sat on a patch of yellowish grass that crackled under her and looked up at the sky. "The moon is out."

"Moon, huh?"

"Yes." She sat in silence for a while, listening for any late night bird to chirp or cricket to squeak, hoping forest creatures didn't die out. Half of the potion was gone and nothing outside had changed.

But she didn't want to think about it right now.

Happy thoughts.

"Sans, is it darker in the Underground than up here in the night?"

That was not the happiest of thoughts, but at least it was distracting.

"Depends on the place." He hummed, and asked after a moment. "Do you like stars?"

"Stars?" Her eyes slid from the disk of the moon to little white dots splattered across the sky. "I don't know. Do you?"

"... yes." His voice sounded unusual. "I don't care much for the aboveground, but I do love the sky, especially at night. It reminds me of home, but... more beautiful. Down there we have gems adoring the cavern ceiling which shine and all, but... In comparison to real stars, they are nothing."

Sans sounded so captivated, she couldn't help but breath in awe looking at the stars that he described with such passion.

"My mom always told me that stars gave birth to Gods." Frisk suddenly remembered.

"Maybe. Maybe not."

Silence fell upon them again, Demigoddess' eyes still sliding over the sky.

"Thanks for telling me." She murmured. "You know, Sans, you might be my first real friend since i became a Demigoddess... except from my mom. Thank you, for everything."

He remained silent for a while.

"Oh."

_ Oh? That's all he is going to say? _ She couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"I don't think anyone ever called me that."

That surprised her, and also shot a painful spike through her soul.

"Really?"

"Yes. Not even your mom. But I guess... you are my first friend too. Aside from my brother, of course."

She smiled, squeezing the pendant in her hand harder.  _ He said it! He said that we are friends!! _

"Don't be too happy, Buttercup, or I'll reconsider."

"Alright."

"You sound overly happy."

"No I'm not."

"I am rethinking all of this."

"Hey!" She sounded offended.

He chuckled. "That's better."

"... maybe it's me who should reconsider."

"I am a God. You should be grateful I even give you the time of day."

"It's night right now and you know it."

"Heh. You are right. Go rest, Buttercup."

"Wait!" Frisk gathered the guts to ask him a question. "I want to ask you something."

"What is it?" Reaper seemed curious.

"It's about Toriel." She took a deep breath. "I know you might be very busy, but maybe you could come here and look at her yourself? Maybe you'll see something I'm not seeing? Please?" Dreading his answer, he shut her eyes and squeezed little pendant with all her might, biting onto her lip as well.

"... I don't think I can, Buttercup."

Her heart sank.

"I don't know where your house is."

_ Oh. _

"Toriel had such powerful Barrier magic no God could find out where she's hidden." Sans continued. "I take it it's somewhere down the mountain, but I don't think I'll be able to get through."

"I don't think her Barrier magic is powerful right now." Frisk looked back at the ground - grass that she was sitting on turned green again, softly tickling her feet. "It sustained plant life inside as well throughout all the seasons, but right now it's weakened just like everywhere else."

"I don't know, Buttercup." He sighed, still unsure .

"Please?"

Reaper remained silent for a while, killing her hope more and more with each second.

"Fine. We can try some time."

She let out a breath she was holding in. "Thank you, Sans, thank you, thank you!"

"I know you can't wait to see me, but you really should go to sleep, kiddo." He chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"Alright. Thank you. Good night."

"Rest in peace, Buttercup. See you on the other side."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: what is privacy


	6. Crisis

Why did he agree to come to her house again?

Right - he was Frisk's  _ friend _ . Still felt unusual to think about them this way, but he couldn't lie to himself. There was no family ties that binded her to him with any obligations, she wasn't one of his servants who were nice to him just because he was their ruler, and she wasn't one of the major Gods, who tolerated him because they had to… or out of fear.

Maybe she was trying to get on his good side just so he would help her, and after it all she'll just look down on him like all the other Gods up in the skies.

But he knew she wouldn't. She was... Frisk. Maybe the fact that she wasn't a human anymore made her so different from them, more strong and pure, but the fact that she used to be one made her not like any other Gods either - she retained that naïvness of someone who still doesn't know how this cruel world works, and everburning curiosity that drives mortals to explore the world and do dangerous and risky things in their short time on this Above world.

She was Frisk, and she became his friend. So he was doing this for her.

... and because something was terribly wrong and the whole world was at stake. That's too.

Sans didn't want to go, but not because he didn't want to see this amusing Demigoddess again or look at the Goddess that once upon a time was full of power, pride and bitterness towards every God in existence, but now was probably a dark shadow of herself, waning under the sunlight. He just didn't want to know where Toriel lived this whole time.

When the Goddess of Life left, Asgore sent everyone to search for her. The search has gone for years, but Sans never actually tried, and not because of his lazy tendencies. It was her decision, and no matter how petty it was in his eye sockets, he did not have the desire to make her confront other Gods or himself.

Knowing the Goddess, she most likely hid right under their noses, but he never shared his insight to the King or anyone else in that matter. He didn't want to be in any way responsible if Toriel was found.

And knowing exactly where she lived would put that responsibility on him. The King was suspicious already that something was going on with his ex-wife, but his best guess was that she gave up on humanity, just like he did all those years ago.

But Sans had to go. Enough time passed already, and if Alphys' cure didn't work, they have to come up with some other plan.

With those thoughts he was passing left and right in the throne room, waiting for Frisk to call out to him. Giving her the pendant proved to be a great choice, but he really wished he had the power to call out to hear her himself.

That would probably be too much power. He would use it mostly to scare her awake by yelling out of nowhere. Papyrus didn't like it when he did that to him, and Frisk would most likely react the same way.

Still, a pity.

"Sans? Are you there?" Rang a familiar voice.

"Of course, and I am ready to visit. Where are you, Buttercup?"

"At home?.." Frisk sounded confused by his question. Well, he expected that.

"Alright. If we want me not to fry my bones in case Barrier still works, you need to go somewhere out of its reach. Got it?"

"Yes. But why?"

"I'm going to emerge from your shadow."

There was a pause.

"You... can do that?"

"Well, you have a pendant infused with deathly magic, so yes." He smiled, imagining what kind of face she must be making right now.

"Deathly magic?!" She almost wheezed. Cute.

"What? I told you, my brother made it."

"I-it won't kill me, right? I wear it a lot, you know."

"It won't." Wears it a lot, huh? Did she keep it on even when she wasn't talking to him? For some reason that felt... fluttering.

"Just don't break it."

"It can break??"

"Of course. Then all of the magic will be released and start killing everything nearby. Painfully."

"... you are lying to me, aren't you?"

He smiled. "Maybe. Maybe not." He heard her let out a huff. It could have been a truth if the pendant was breakable.

But it wasn't. Probably.

She'll be fine.

"I am beyond Barrier grounds now." Frisk spoke out a bit later.

"You sure?"

"Yes. So are you going to..."

Sans didn't let her finish her sentence. Letting the pull of his brother's sealed magic guide him, he slipped into the shadow of the throne room column and reappeared behind the Demigoddess.

_ Perfect. _

"... come her- aAH!" Frisk, along with her voice, jumped when she felt skeletal fingers land on her shoulders.

" **_Boo._ ** " He smirked, making lights of his eyes disappear.

"Sans!!" She exclaimed, making a move to swat at him, which he evaded with ease. "You can't just do that!"

"I am a God." He hit her with a wink. "I can do anything I please."

Demigoddess mumbled something about dumb gods and pranks and made a pouty face.

"So, lead the way, Buttercup." He motioned around. It looked like just any other forest, but he could see Mountain Ebott from here.

Extremely close.

"So you do live in the edge of a mountain." Reaper shook his head.

"You... won't tell anyone, will you?" He saw how she bit her lip, looking down at the grass they stepped on while she waited for his answer.

"I won't." He had no use for this knowledge anyway, just more problems.

"Promise?"

He couldn't help but stop in place.

"I don't make promises."

Frisk flinched, probably not expecting to hear such coldness in his voice.

Gods always had to keep their promises. And last promise he made... was to the Goddess of Life.

_ 'Don't hurt my child.' _

And look how great that turned out.

"A-alright. Sorry."

Sans winced. He didn't like to  _ actually _ scare Frisk. But... she was so naïve, and there were some things he had to make absolutely clear to her.

She lived her whole life near the light, and he had some wisdom only the dark ones could give.

"Welcome to my home." Demigoddess mumbled awkwardly.

Reaper's head jerked up. Between the trees, he saw a little wooden house, looking just like any mortal would build.

_ I didn't even notice we passed the Barrier. _ Things are very bad.

"Well, your mom did a great job at hiding - no God would ever suspect this to be a home of the Goddess of Life." Sans raised his bone brows. He knew Toriel was modest, but even for him it looked kind of pathetic. He saw mortal's houses more grand than this.

Frisk puffed her cheeks. "I like it better than the King's palace."

"Of course you do, you've been living here for... how long?"

"Ugh, just go inside." He chuckled at her growling tone and stepped inside.

"My mom is here." Frisk turned to one of the rooms. Unsure in himself, Sans lingered before the doorway and then took a peek inside.

He never expected to see Toriel, a Goddess of Life, so... vulnerable. Her magic presence was so weak even now, when he was in such close proximity.

"That's... horrible, kid." He muttered.

"Do you think she can get better? Or..." He tore his eyes away from the fallen Goddess to look at her daughter. Her eyes were shiny with tears and hands trembled.

How many times he saw this sight? People watching how their loved ones slowly withered away until the time came for him to claim their soul?

Too many to count.

What did he think? He expected... better. Much better. But coming face-to-face with the fallen down Goddess... his own hope started to vain.

"Show me the potion, kid."

Frisk's shoulders fell when he didn't answer her question, but she obeyed. Sliding on the floor, she pulled a little chest from under the bed. Pulling out the key, she fumbled with a rusty lock and opened it, revealing a potion vial, wrapped up in a cloth.

That... seemed a bit much for something she was supposed to take out twice a day. Have she really been  _ that _ afraid for its safety?

Before he could ponder more, Demigoddess held a vial out to him. Carefully, he wrapped his skeletal fingers around it and pulled closer for expection.

Frisk didn't let go.

Reaper raised a bonebrow in question, but she didn't say anything. He pulled again.

She didn't let go.

"Buttercup?" Sans was always up for pranks, but when the fate of the world was layed on their shoulders he really wasn't in a mood.

"Oh! Sorry! Let me just-" She disentangled her fingers, finally allowing him to take a closer look.

About half of the liquid was gone. Everything else was just like he remembered - it was red and splashy.

Not much to go on.

When he voiced it out, Frisk seemed undeterred. In fact, her eyes didn't leave the vial.

"Maybe we should try it?"

Sans looked at her in surprise.

"Didn't Toriel teach you not to go drink potions that aren't for you?" He frowned.

"She did, but... It just raises hope, right?"

"Also it's for a God." He took a step back.

"But I am half God!" She looked more frustrated with every second. She was reaching for the vial now, trying to get it from his hands.

"And you- Agh, kid, did you drink it?"

"No, but-" When he heard it, he let the shadows consume him and reappeared outside the house.

This wasn't normal. Sans went behind the house and carefully kneeled before still alive chamomile, opening the vial and letting a small drop of liquid drop on it's center.

Sans watched the flower with rising intensity, but nothing seemed to happen.

Huh.

"Sans, where did you go?!" Panicked voice rang in his head, after which he heard the sound of front door opening. 

With a quick movement he showed vial in between his robes and then stepped from his cover.

"I'm here, Buttercup." He called out, casually leaning on the wall like he didn't just flee her house.

"What was that?" Frisk angrily marched up to him, still squeezing the pendant in her hand.

"Did you snap out of it?" Reaper disregarded her question.

"Out of... oh..." Her shoulders fell, and she hanged her head. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I, uh- every time I see this potion, I really want to try it, I had to get it out of my sight, and...." Her face turned rosy in shame.

Sans frowned. That was something a curse would do.

"Sans, where's the potion?" Her question snapped him out of his thoughts.

He didn't want to give it back to her, but it didn't seem to show any bad effects...

He turned to that flower again.

"... you don't need it anymore."

It  _ withered _ .

_ Alphys, what have you done. _

"Frisk." He turned back to her with the sense of urgency. "I need to look at Toriel's soul."

"I, uh, umm, fine?.." Demigoddess looked confused.

She agreed so casually he actually stopped to stare at her.

"Uh, really?.."

"What? It's important, right?" She blinked at him.

_ I guess Life never teached her about importance of someone's soul. _

"It is. Let's go." Well, less problems for him.

When they returned, he carefully sat on the chair before the bed and... hesitated.

He dealt with souls for thousands of years, but those were human souls, and each one had to be handled with care and respect. This... this was a soul of a God, and not even just any God - the Goddess of Life, and, despite the situation, he felt like an intruder.

"Sans?" Well, Frisk gave him the approval... which meant she had no idea how intimate and personal it is.

Taking a deep breath, Sans called out Toriel's soul. Slowly, golden upside down heart flied from her chest and stopped between his hands.

"Wow..." Frisk breathed out.

Goddess' soul was a sight to behold. Even weak as it was, it pulsated with warm and light and shimmered with thousands of golden specks. Even he had to admit that it looked gorgeous.

But there was something else. On the side of it was a big red splash of dark red, which led right into the black sphere in the centre.

"What is that?" Sans snapped his neck to the side so fast something audibly cracked. Frisk was leaning over his shoulder, thankfully not making any contact, and stared at the little upside down heart flying above his skeletal hands, that, for some reason, started to gravitate towards her.

"I don't know, kid." He forced himself to turn back and catch it to take a look again. "Blackness in the center must be something that drains her hope. This red... Potion is either stopping it, or supporting it." Withered flower flashed before his eye sockets, but he couldn't point the fingers and blame Alphys just yet. Nice God of Justice that would make him.

"Can't we ask Alphys?" Frisk looked at the soul with sad expression.

Sans hesitated. She would probably ask to see Queen's soul herself, and after seeing what effect that potion has he couldn't help but be a little suspicious.

... alright, really suspicious. He was always a bit suspicious towards everyone, but considering what he saw now he actually had a few justifications.

"You know, ask to borrow her Soul Reader?"

Surprised, Reaper turned to her.

"You know about the Soul Reader?"

"Yes. You told me, remember?" She gave him a small smile.

He blinked. Memories of him telling her about Alphys' artifacts rushed through him, but he didn't expect her to remember it at all, much less remember the exact name of it.

"That's... can work." It could - at the very least, they would figure out if potion was helping or not.

They just had to get the artifact first.

He let the soul go and watched it drift toward Frisk again.

_ Huh _ . Did Goddess's soul feel presence of her daughter? Or just her own magic in her? Whichever it was, Sans never saw a soul behave that way.

Then again, he never saw a soul of any other God. Maybe it was normal for them.

He waved his hand, and soul went back into Toriel's body. He was curious, but there were much more important things to get to for now.

"Alright, Buttercup, I'll pay a visit to Alph-"

"I'm going with you!"

Yes, he expected that.

"And what good you'll be?" He smirked, staring at her with a challenge.

Eyes full of determination stared back at him.

"I calmed Alphys down last time." Frisk said with self-assured smirk.

"One meaningful interaction and you are best friends forever, huh?" Sans rolled light of his eyes in his eye sockets.

"No, but I think she might be a bit... afraid of you?"

"Oh, you don't say." He gave her a devilish grin. "It's just means I can scare her into giving me what I want."

She looked so unimpressed it almost seemed she would try to slap him.

"Sans."

He dropped the sinister look and just squinted his eye sockets at her.

"Fine, you, annoying mortal, I shall be merciful and generously allow you to accompany me... when you stop giving me that look."

Frisk made a face even worse - she looked like she won, but Reaper let it slide as he extended his hand to her, throwing one last look at the fallen down Goddess.

He held onto his hope that they won't be too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I missed my dorks not gonna lie
> 
> Next chapter: someone gets the shit beaten out of them (´-﹏-`；)


	7. Fight for what you believe in

Trip through shadows was just as uncomfortable as she remembered.

Despite that, Frisk was glad Sans agreed to take her with him. After the scene she threw about drinking the potion, she thought he would look down on her, but all she saw on his face besides permanent smile were thoughtfulness and seriousness.

It was more eerie than his sinister face if she was honest.

Shadow travel might have been unpleasant, but the sight of Alphys' room made her smile.

"Listen up, Buttercup." Deep voice made her turn her head to her Reaper friend. "I'm going to talk first. Don't add anything more."

That made her frown. "What do you mea-"

"S-s-sans! F-f-frisk!" Rang familiar voice and they both looked in it's direction. Lizard lady looked just like Frisk remembered, even down to her nervous expression. "W-what a surprise!"

"Hello, Alphys." Sans said without any warmth in his voice, but she yelled her greeting with as much cheer as she could muster.

"W-what are you d-doing here?" She approached them slowly.

"Sadly, with the same issue like the last time." Reaper shook his skull. "But it might be better... Sincere thank you for the cure, but we have to make sure that Life's soul is stable, so we need you to lend your Soul Reader to us."

Frisk threw him a sideways glance. He barely said anything about Toriel or potion or even her soul. And better?! Things didn't seem better at all!

"You see, her soul..." She spoke up, before Sans interjected her.

"We want to see her soul." Reaper said quickly. She looked at him with irritation only to see him smiling like nothing was up.

Even though his smile seemed a bit strained, even for him.

"S-soul Reader? You see... I d-don't have it r-right now." Alphys looked at them apologetically.

Sans narrowed his eye sockets. "Where is it then?"

"I... might have... g-given it to Undyne?.." Goddess chewed through her words.

Frisk's heart sank. Alphys gave it to someone else? And even she knew who that 'someone else' was - the Goddess of War and Battle.

But what she...

"What she want to do with the Soul Reader?" Sans voiced out her question.

"I d-don't know, she just ask-ked..." Scales on her face lightened up in red blush.

"Maybe there's something else we could..." Frisk didn't want to give up. They could try something different, right? Maybe they didn't need the Soul Reader - maybe Alphys could just take a look and extract that black thing herself.

But soul, if Frisk remembered right, was a culmination of someone's being. Can you really tamper with it like that?

"We'll just take it from her."

Frisk startled and turned to the skeleton.

"Sans?.."

"What?!" Alpys gasped. "Sans, she hates humans!"

"Maybe so, but she won't let the Queen die." Reaper shook his skull. "It will tear Asgore apart, and she won't allow that." He waved his hand in front of Frisk so she could take it. "Thanks, Alphys. We'll return the Soul Reader later." Before Demigoddess even had the chance to say her goodbyes, Sans already pulled her through the darkness.

She didn't even pay attention where they ended up to - she just turned to him with ravenous expression.

"Sans, what was that?"

To her surprise, Sans looked equally enraged, his eye lights disappearing before his left eye socket lighted up with blue and yellow flames. "No, kiddo, what was with you?! I told you not to say anything, and you have the nerve to interject me?!"

"You were the one who kept cutting me off!" Frisk didn't back off. "You didn't let me say anything!"

"Because I told you not to!" He growled. "Stars help me, I knew mortals were stupid, but I thought you can at least obey simple commands."

"Why did you even take me with you if you didn't allow me to talk?!"

"I thought you could've been helpful, and I regret that I did." Fire in Reaper's left eye went out, leaving dark empty eye sockets. "Forget it. Let's get you home. You won't be any good with Undyne."

"Wha- no!" She took a step back. "I'm not going back! I can't just sit at home and watch my mother die!"

"Kid-"

"I won't just sit and wait! If you take me back I will hold onto you so tight you won't get away without me, but if you do I'll climb the Mountain over and over before I'll be let inside! I am stronger than I look, Sans!" She cried out, her eyes betraying her and tears hindering her point, but she stared at him with determination that burned in her soul.

Sans stared back, clenching his teeth, before letting out a sigh and looking away from her tearful expression.

"Buttercup, this... this is bigger than you." He shook his skull. "Something is not right, was not right from the very start. You can't just ACT like you feel like, you have to think first. If you continue that, you can just hand me your soul right there."

She frowned, wiping her tears with a thumb. "What do you mean?"

"I am just saying if you want to die you got a friend in me, I'll shortcut your way to the Underworld."

She kept staring at him blankly.

"Lighten up, Buttercup. Did I kill your sense of humour?"

"You really- You are joking? Now?" She wiped her face with her hands, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Maybe. I was dead serious earlier." Sans hit her with a wink before taking a serious look again. "I still think you better go home, kiddo. Alphys was right - Undyne hates humans, thanks to your little shit of a Demigoddess predecessor. If she even spots you she'll kill you even faster than I can."

That... did sound scary. From her mother's words Undyne was a furious individual who showed no mercy... but Frisk still didn't want to go home.

"If i tell you a joke would you let me go with you?"

Sans cocked his head to the side, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That's depends. Try me."

"If I go back the wait will kill me."

Skeleton raised his bone brow, but his smile did get a tad bit wider.

"Not good enough."

Her shoulders fell.

"You need more practice... So I'll keep you close. Let's go."

Frisk snapped her head up, feeling the wave of excitement rush through her.

She… she was truly glad that out of all the Gods she could've met when she climbed the mountain she met him.

Now, when they weren't throwing at each other accusations or puns, Frisk actually decided to look around. They were in some wide empty hall made out of the white marble. Looking to the side and down she saw a big round arena under the open sky with rows of seats that kept going up.

"Buttercup, you can watch from up here. I'll be waiting for Undyne, she trains here almost every day." Sans said, looking down at the arena space.

"Gods need training too?" Frisk asked curiously. She had to train her magic because she didn't have a full grasp of it, but Gods had centuries of time even after they stopped aiding humans.

"Beats me. I have no idea why she does that. Bored I guess." Skeleton shrugged with a smile.

Well, being immortal and out of work probably gave a few Gods a lot of spare time. "What are you doing in your free time?"

"Talking with you, Buttercup."

Upon hearing that blush ran to her cheeks. She... she didn't expect that.

"Ah-"

His shit-eating grin made her get her thoughts back together.

"T-that's not true! Even since we met you said you've been swamped with work! And I am the one who always starts talking!" She pointed one accusing finger at him, but Reaper only looked more amused.

"You got me, Buttercup." Sans said, closing his eyes in pretend sadness before cracking one eye socket open and smiling. "But that's what I am planning to do when this whole mess is over."

His voice held such genuine warmth she felt her heart beat faster.

"Oh. Me too..."

For a few seconds they just stared at each other, sheepishly smiling, their faces covered in a slight blush (his skull got a blue tint that made him look absolutely adorable), before they both heard a strange sound coming from the arena.

"Hide!" Sans hissed and she jumped behind one of the marble columns. "Do not come out until I come over. If you see someone coming, use the amulet and tell me." He stared at her until she nodded in agreement and then turned to the arena, making his way down the stairs-like-seats and raising his voice. "Undyne!"

"Sans??" Frisk didn't dare to peak from her hiding spot just yet, pressing her back more against the cold marble. The voice she heard sounded surprised and not-so-pleased.

"Don't you know how to greet an old friend? You could've at least lower your spear." Sans sounded cheery. Overly cheery.

"What are you doing here?" Undyne sounded hostile, which filled Frisk's chest with worry.

"Straight to the point, huh? I feel wounded. Don't you want to talk for a bit?"

"I am not going to waste time talking with a lazy pretentious prick." Goddess spat out.

Frisk narrowed her brows. She expected the Goddess of War to act tough, but this was just… plain rude.

"Well, if you insist... I heard Alphys lended you one of the artifacts of hers, and I need it."

Silence followed.

"... no way in hell you are getting anything from me."

"Hell is not the most pleasant place to be in, but I can show you the way if you give me what I want." Sans said nonchalantly.

"And what do you want exactly?" Undyne said in a tone that was more humouring if anything else.

"Soul Reader. Went to Alphys but she said she fave it to you. And what the Goddess of War even needs something like that for?"

"That's non of your damn business. Stop wasting time and go do your job!"

"I need it for-"

"Listen, bonebag! No way I am trusting anything to the likes of you. While you are spitting jokes around here, Papyrus works his bony ass off alone. You've always been uncaring good-for-nothing sack of bones who thinks he can get whatever he wants by scaring people, but at least have the decency to do your job and go help your brother out in the time of crisis!"

Frisk snapped.

"Do not speak about Sans that way!" She said as loud as she could, stepping out of her hideout, her shaking hands rolled into fists. "You have no idea what you are talking about! He is one of the kindness, funniest, wisest people I've ever met!" Demigoddess was slowly descending down, making her way to two Gods that seemed frozen in place. "He does his job with pride, and he works hard, and he loves his brother, so don't you dare insult him like this!" She finally reached the arena and stood right in front of Sans, facing the Goddess that looked like she was some kind of fish monster with blue scales, red hair and gills and armor that looked so grand she would've been impressed if she weren't this angry.

For a few second Undyne just continued to stare back at her with her yellow eye (another one was sealed behind an eyepatch), before materialising a light blue spear.

That's it then.

... and throwing it to Frisk's feet.

"A Demigoddess, hu?"

Frisk's eyes flied from her to a spear and back up again.

"What?.."

"You want the artifact-thing? Then let's battle. If you win, I'll let you take it, but if I win, I am keeping it." Sharp teeth made her crazy smile seem more menacing than Reaper's.

"Undyne, what-" Sans must've snapped out of the shock, and his voice actually sounded angered.

"Do not intervene in our fight, you bone sack." Goddess summoned another spear. "Or I'll kill the girl right there."

"Don't you dare." Frisk could feel the waves of cold magic radiate behind her back. The only time she heard the skeleton sound this angry was when she grabbed him on the day they met.

"Alright." Demigoddess said, picking up the spear from the ground and turning to her friend to reassure him. "It's fine, Sans, I can do it."

I have no idea what I'm doing.

She didn't want them to fight verbally, but she had a poor idea how she can handle herself in a physical fight. With a Goddess. Of Battle and War.

Whether I come out of this dead or alive Sans won't forgive me for this one.

Spear in her hand felt as if it weighted nothing. Intense magic that sustained it prickled her fingers, and when she got more proper grip on it it felt like she was holding a lightning in her hand, ready to split the sky.

"Heard that? Now give us some room to fight." Undyne looked ecstatic.

Sans threw a long look at Frisk before complying, taking a seat a few rows up.

Frisk watched him go, and when she turned back to her opponent she saw her a dozen steps away, reading her spear.

"En guarde!"

Demigoddess thought she was going to rush up to her and took a step back, but instead fish lady sent a few spears flying in her direction.

Toriel never taught her how to fight... but she knew how to dodge.

She sidestepped two of the spears, while one of them flew right at her. She nearly dropped her own spear deflecting it.

It was only the beginning, but Frisk already knew she won't last long. She needed to do something. She needed to ACT.

"Hi, m-my name is Frisk!" She shouted, taking more stable position.

"Less talking. Attack!"

Undyne didn't look like she was going to run up to her any time soon, so Frisk switched her focus on dodging.

"I- uh- am the one that needs that artifact! Can you please consider- Ah! Can you please consider giving it to me?" One spear nicked her shoulder, leaving a tear on her robe.

"Socializing with mortals now, Sans? I knew you were parody of a God, but I never expected you to fall this low!" Undyne didn't even look in her direction, but spears kept flying.

"Can you stop being rude to him?" Frisk tightened her hold on the weapon before swinging it, deflecting opponent's attacks. "And I am a Demigoddess! You are fighting me right now, not him!"

"Oh, then show it to me!" Goddess mocked her. "Where's your magic then?"

Frisk was breathing heavily at this point. All her magic could do was growing flowers, and she couldn't even do that in this stone-filled place.

"I-"

Looking at the ground, she noticed it started to glow. She stumbled away, falling backwards when a giant spear emerged right under where her feet used to be.

"Come on, punk, you want that thing, right?"

Frisk stood up again, quickly brushing her hand over one big cut on her waist that started to sting. Taking a tighter hold on her spear, she rushed forward.

Maybe if I knock her spear from her hands she won't fight me anymore.

Undyne didn't seem to even flinch when she saw girl running up to her. Getting close enough to strike, Frisk made a move to swing, but with a swift kick of heavy metal boots Goddess sent her flying.

After hitting cold stone floor Demigoddess shook from pain. That kick made her stomachs feel like it was tearing apart, while her multiple cuts stang and head rang with noise.

I can't give up just yet.

Gathering her remaining strength, Frisk pulled up and stood on her shaky legs, struggling to keep balance.

"That's enough!"

Turning her head, she saw Sans in standing position, blue smoke steaming from his empty eye sockets and shadows leaking from his robes, making air around him fill with darkness and danger.

"Won't you look at that." Undyne smirked. "Who knew that all I have to do to raffle you up was beat the dickens out of some puny human girl?" She cackled with laughter. "I'm sorry, Sansy, you can't intervene!"

Even though he was the God of Death, the death glare he threw at her didn't actually dust her. He groaned but composed himself, stopping his magic from chilling the air. His face relaxed, but grin remained sinister.

"Sure thing. But don't you think it's a little unfair, Undyne? You didn't even let the girl pick her weapon."

Goddess looked at him unimpressed and a little annoyed. "Whatever, she can battle me with Asgore's trident for all I care, she is a lost cause..."

Sans only kept on smiling. "Good. Great. Wonderful." He approached Frisk, giving her a coy look. He made a motion with his hands, and from the shadows he drew a shining blade...

... a scythe, to be exact.

"WHAT? NO FAIR!" Undyne shouted. "Even Papyrus never gave me his scythe!! You can't just give it to hu-"

"Well, I did." Sans shrugged, offering Frisk his weapon. "Don't overdo it, Buttercup."

Demigoddess stared at him for a few moments before accepting the weapon, getting a hold of the handle. The curved blade was huge and almost as long as her, but the scythe itself was surprisingly lighter than she expected.

She took a probe swing.

She... had no idea how to battle with a scythe. However, she felt the sheer power of it in her hands. It felt like she actually had a chance against Undyne now, while previously it was all futile.

Filled with determination, she rushed towards Undyne.

"Hey hey HEY, punk!" This time Goddess actually moved, getting out of the way. "Got all confident now?! Well, I'll never lose to the likes of you!"

Frisk saw the glowing beneath her feet and dodged the spear that phased from the floor and left it like nothing was there.

But what if?..

She tightened her grip on the handle and swinged the scythe above her head before plunging it into the floor. Blade went through the floor like it was butter, creating a spiderweb of cracks that were illuminated with dull purple light. Fracture grew bigger by the second, going through the half of the arena before it reached Undyne.

"What the-"

Before she could do anything she slipped into one of the cracks. Her armor hooked on the broken marble, making her leg stuck.

Frisk pulled the weapon back with the effort, retrieving blade from the stone before assessing the damage.

Did... did I really do that?

She looked in the Reaper's direction, but he looked more chill than ever, his smirk satisfied. Frisk took a breather before carefully navigating her way around the split she created and walking up to Undyne.

"NGAAAAH, STUPID BOOT!" She cried out, struggling with her leg.

That was it, victory. Frisk raised scythe to strike.

And hesitated.

"Come on, punk, finish the job."

Frisk frowned.

"You want that artifact, don't you? COME ON!"

She lowered her weapon.

"Really? NGHHH, HUMANS! FIGHT OR YOU ARE DEAD!"

"I won't fight."

"SWING IT, SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT, OR I WON'T GIVE YOU THE THING! I WILL INSULT SANS FOR CENTURIES!!"

"No." Frisk shook her head, grabbing the scythe in one hand and extending other towards the Goddess.

Undyne huffed in disbelief.

"Really? Ugh, and I actually hoped i get to feel it's power against me."

... what?

"It would probably kill you with one hit." Sans said nonchalantly as he approached them.

WHAT?!

"ME, GO OUT IN ONE HIT?? NEVER!" Undyne roared, finally pulling her leg out and standing up, completely ignoring Frisk's hand.

Frisk furrowed her brows in frustration before turning to Sans and knocking on floor with the scythe in an angry manner.

"You are telling me that if I hit her, she would instantly die?!" Frisk yelled. "What if I did it?!"

"I am saying probably, Buttercup." He said and pocked the tip of the blade with his finger. "See? Didn't kill me. So probably not."

"What, why, but, uh- SANS!" She was so angry and confused she let scythe go, letting it flop on the floor, before throwing her hands in the air and marching away.

"Where are you going, Buttercup?" She heard Sans chuckle. "Don't you want to take the Soul Reader?"

"Take it yourself, you jerk!" She yapped at him over her shoulder.

"Damn, you two argue like you are married or something." Undyne hummed, making Frisk freeze in place.

"Um-" Seems like Reaper was at the loss of words too.

"Oh, is it blush I see, Sansy?"

"Shut up."

"Hey, shrimp, get back here!" Goddess called her over. When Frisk turned back, Sans was trying to bury his blue face in the darkness of his hood. "I had never seen this bonehead act like he did today. You must really be something special." She smiled. "Not to mention that crack, damn, it's going to take me ages to fix!"

"S-sorry..." Frisk smiled apologetically.

"What are you talking about? It's incredible!" Fish Goddess looked ectatic.

"So, I wonder, will you please give us the Soul Reader?.." 

"Oh? That. Yes, take it." Undyne pulled out something small and golden and tossed it at the Demigoddess, who fumbled to catch it. "Alphys gave it to me and asked not to give it to anybody, but you are great. Just return it to her later, okay?"

"Yes, thank you!" Frisk felt happiness bloom in her chest.

"We got what we came for, now we can go." Sans mumbled from under his hood.

"I have to ask... what's Queens new human and Sans are doing together?"

Skeleton huffed. "I would gladly explain but I don't want to leave my brother to do all the work while I am wasting time with you."

"Hey now, the fact that you got a girlfriend doesn't mean you should leave your brother to-"

"Undyne, stop!" Sans groaned and retreated back into hood-town. "It's not- uh- we are on an important mission! And we are leaving! Right now!"

"Right, right…" Undyne turned to Demigoddess and gave her a toothy smile, clapping her shoulder just a tad bit stronger than necessary. "See you around, shrimp!"

Frisk wanted to smile, but now, when adrenaline wasn't running as high, the tiredness and her injuries started to catch up on her, and suddenly standing was much harder task.

"Sans?.."

He took one look at her and instantly was by her side, helping her stay on her legs and teleporting her away without any goodbyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your honour. I've never described battles before. Forgive me if it's atrocious.
> 
> Next chapter: pie


	8. Before the storm

He thought he was going to rip Undyne into little shreds, scale by scale.

He never liked the fish Goddess - she was loud, she liked to annoy him and was too hotheaded for his calm self. 

Their dislike was mutual it seemed, but they had a middle ground - Papyrus. His brother and the fish were best friends, and she seemed to treat him well, so Sans didn't intervene with their adventures, even when they had ridiculous consequences. His brother was having fun and he could get behind that.

But watching Undyne beat the life out of  _ his _ best friend (she was his only friend, so he assumed he could call her that) filled him with fury. He felt control of his magic slipping - anything alive and mortal would die if it was closer to him than 50 steps. His bones rattled as he watched the fight.

Stupid, stupid mortal. Couldn't even sit still while he talked with Undyne. And then she jumped out - and for what - to  _ protect _ him?

This... this shocked him to the core. He got used to all mean and scared stares and harsh words and outcast treatment from everyone he had ever met, but hearing someone defending him, talking about him the way she did... His soul made too many flips in his ribcage.

Stupid, stupid girl... she didn't know who she was talking about. She didn't know the extent of his powers, how truly ruthful he could be. She saw what she wanted to see. He wasn't at all what she said.

He was the God of Death and Justice. He just… couldn't be.

"Sans?"

He took them right to her home, helping Frisk to lay on the bed he presumed was hers. She looked just like some mortals he took the souls from - ones who got roughed up in a battle and died afterwards.

He hated it.

"You should lay down." He said in a commanding voice.

She resisted, but her attempts were weak.

"But mom-"

"Lay down."

She grimaced in displeasure, but complied, relaxing on the bed. "I just wanted to grab a healing potion."

"I'll get it for you, Buttercup." Those injuries didn't suit her at all - she was so gentle, and, looking at her now, she seemed like an angel who suffered a nasty fall from the skies.

"Healing should be... in the other room, green liquid in a square vial."

He nodded and went to look for it. He found a shelf full of potions of all colours (besides black... he felt offended) and fumbled through the vials, searching for the right one. Snatching the one that fit the description skeleton came back, carefully placing it in girl's hand, lingering when his skeletal fingers touched hers.

"Thank you." She gave him a sweet smile and popped the vial open, drinking its contents.

They both sat in silence, waiting for her wounds to heal.

"Hey, Sans." Frisk spoke up, her gaze still fixated on the ceiling.

"What is it, Buttercup?" Reaper, who was sitting on the edge of her bed and swimming in thoughts, gently shifted to face her.

"I could've killed Undyne? Really?"

He frowned. Looks like it still bothered her.

"Gods can't be killed easily, Buttercup. My scythe... God can harm another God with it, but not kill. In the hands of a mortal, however... yes, you could've killed her."

"And you... just gave it to me. Why?"

"I knew you wouldn't." Sans chuckled. "Intent is a big part of it too, Buttercup. I knew you wouldn't aim to kill, because you are, well, you."

That brought a faint blush to her cheeks.

"Of course I wouldn't." She turned her head on the side away from him. "Didn't you say that all Gods sustain balance in the world?"

"Right."

"So, even if one God dies, the balance will be broken?"

"It's... more complicated than that, kid." Sans let out a sigh, remembering the Gods who had fallen or casted away.

"Sans." Demigoddes called to him in a less faint voice.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

He stared at her blankly.

"For what?"

"For trusting me."

Reaper huffed. "Well, I don't know if I should trust you, Buttercup. You disobeyed my orders,  _ twice _ ."

"But we got the artifact, right?" Demigoddess sat up, her cuts all but gone, leaving behind thin lines on skin and torn fabric of her dirtened robes, from which she pulled out golden heart locket.

Sans didn't argue, standing up to give her a room to get on her feet as well.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yes!" Frisk said all to cheery. She clearly still struggled for a bit, but he saw familiar determination in her eyes. "Let's go look at my mother."

He didn't hesitate to pull Life's soul again, taking a locket from Frisk and opening it.

He... he wasn't sure how it worked.

Frisk stared at him expectedly, making his skull sweat under his hood. He knew how to cut connection between the soul and the body, not how to CHECK it.

Now opened, locked shined with golden light from the inside, but Sans couldn't see anything in there. Staring at it for a few moments he brought it closer to the soul. Suddenly it felt lighter, as if the locket tried to slip through his fingers. He let it go and watched it fly to the soul before turning upside down and closing, trapping the soul inside.

Frisk gasped.

"Is that supposed to be happening?" She asked, clearly terrified.

He wasn't sure, but looking how Toriel didn't dissintigrate into a star dust yet, at least it didn't hurt her. He hoped it didn't.

Acting on a pure extinct, he extended his finger and pressed it against the still flying locket. With a flash of the golden light, words started to appear in front of him.

**Toriel - 8 ATK -9999 DEF**

**The Goddess of Life.**

**Soul corruption: 58% - black - ???**

**Additional corruption: 27% - red - determination**

They shared a concerned glance.

"W-what does it mean?" Frisk looked at him for an answer.

"You... can't read?"

"Of course I can! Just... Does additional corruption mean that..."

Sans nodded. Potion was aiding the black 'corruption'.

_ Alphys _ .

Could it be nonintentional? The Goddess did make mistakes like those before. Huge mistakes.

_ 'Alphys gave it to me and asked not to give to anybody...' _

Undyne's words flashed through his mind, feeding his suspicions. Why would Alphys do something like that?

Did she know they'll come for it?

"Turn around, kid." He looked at Frisk.

Thankfully, she actually obeyed his command this time (but not before looking at him questionably) and turned her back to him. Sans reached for the locket, opening it and letting Toriel's soul fly out.

He wondered if it would actually work - artifact was called Soul Reader, but maybe because it had convenient shape? - pulling out familiar red potion, Reaper pop-opened the vial and spilled a bit inside the locket, closing it and staring expectantly.

**DT potion - heals ‽¿ HP**

**Concentration of determination**

"Determination?? Didn't she learn anything?" Sans groaned and snatched locket out of the air.

"Determination?" Frisk turned back to him. "What's wrong with determination?"

"It's a mortal thing, Gods can't handle determination. The power that drives humans forward even after Gods left them." Skeleton shook his skull.

"Is it... incompatible with their souls?" Frisk looked cautious.

"Yes."

"But I have a soul of determination!"

He stared at her with wide eye sockets. Determination souls weren't a rarity, but he didn't expect such naive and gentle human as Frisk to have one of those.

Then again, now it explained a lot of her actions... like protecting him in front of killer fish with such ferocity. Huh.

"How do you know?"

"My mom told me." She placed a hand on her chest. "But I also have a part of her soul as well. Does it mean... Do you think... Do you think she might be dying because of me?.." Her voice cracked on the last part.

"No, it can't be. Your soul can't affect hers." Sans answered calmly, but she still looked somewhat afraid. Her hands were shaking. "I... I can look at your soul if you want to be sure."

_ Wait why did he said tha- _

"You can?"

"Sure." He mumbled.

_ Just pull her soul out and tell her she's fine, no big deal. _ He repeated in his head like a weird prayer.

Before he could call his power to summon her soul out, Frisk brought her hands to her chest and morioned her soul out just like he would. A little heart flied out, casting the red glow around the room.

Sans froze.

Just like Frisk said, her soul represented determination - bright red. The part of Toriel's soul Goddess gave up to make her daughter immortal spread among it, making red sparkle like million of diamond-like stars.

He never saw anything like this before.

"Sans? Is- is it bad? You are staring."

Reaper clicked his jaw shut, nearly falling backwards. He was so mesmerized he didn't even think about how she managed to bring her soul out so easily.

Humans couldn't draw out their souls at all - most of them weren't even aware of existence of something like a 'soul'. All Gods had the power of bringing souls out, but only for Reaper brothers it was as easy as snapping fingers. For others it was an effort equalled to moving a mountain with bare hands. Without magic. And hands.

Even Toriel couldn't summon a soul out that easily, so, apparently, besides mature magic Frisk did have some abilities of her own.

This wasn't the time to talk about it, however.

"I, uh,  _ uhh- _ fine, fine, it's fine, you are fine." He proceeded to bury his face in the hood, trying to escape her confused eyes that shined so prettily in the red light.

Jeez, he hasn't been this ungodly since... forever.

"Sans, you are scaring me."  _ Oh, who knew that all it takes to scare her was acting like a stupid flustered mortal. _ "I am not harming my mother?"

"Of course you don't."

She squinted her eyes at him for a few more moments before sighing and scooping the soul, letting it fly back into her chest.

"It means..."

"Alphys is trying to kill Life." Sans said and stood up.

"Why?.." Frisk stood up as well. "She didn't seem bad!"

"Then why she gave Undyne an artifact?" To the person who resented him, hated humans and held the worst memories of Demigods?

"To keep it safe?"

"From us. Frisk..."

"I don't want to accuse her right away! It's all must be a mistake." Frisk looked like she was on the verge of tears.

Sans bit back an urge to raise his voice. In truth, he didn't want to believe the Goddess of Intelligence and Science was behind it as well. They weren't friends, but he never held any major resentment towards her.

"You are a God of Justice, right? You are the Judge! You should be fair!"

"I know." He raised his voice. "Do you understand in what predicament we are right now, Buttercup? Life is dying, and we are finding ourselves wrapped up in complications that we don't need in our situation!"

"It doesn't mean we have to start pointing fingers at everyone! It won't make things faster  _ or _ better! Can't we just talk to Alphys?"

They held each other's gaze for a while.

"Buttercup."

"We can say we want to return her the Soul Reader and then bring it up."

He still mulled it over.

"I can go alone, you know."

"What? You are going to climb the mountain and demand entry?" Despite himself Sans chuckled.

"I'll ask for Undyne. I'm sure she'll let me in." Frisk smirked.

"Oh, you are buddy-buddy with the fish now. Typical mortals. Befriending someone, using them and then casting aside for someone better." He pretended to be sad, bringing his hand to his face in a dramatic fashion.

"What? No I am not!" Demigoddess pouted. "You- you are my best friend, I will never trade you for anyone!"

Sans froze for a second in surprise.

_ Best friend, huh? After the speech she made to Undyne I shouldn't be surprised. _

"Sure, kid, sure." He waved his skeletal hand at her. "I'll go."

"To talk?"

"To whip out my scythe and attack.  _ Yes _ , to talk." He huffed before his gaze softened and he looked over her. "How's your injuries?"

Frisk looked uncomfortable, rubbing thin cuts in a nervous manner.

"I am good, I think."

"You think? Buttercup, if you want to feel pain I'll schedule you a trip to the hell pits, show you the sights and all. Did this potion heal everything?"

"I'll... I'll just grab a bite of food and I'll be good!" She gave him a smile.

Well, at least she was honest. Not like she could fool him anyway.

"... alright." He wanted to tell her to rest so badly, but they didn't have time. "Eat and change your clothes, then we can go."

"Alright. Do you want to eat as well?"

Sans stared at her, taken aback. Underground folk always threw impressive feasts, and Gods parties were filled with all kinds of dishes, but he haven't eaten anything in ages.

Literally.

"Like what?" That wasn't the best of responses, but Toriel had to teach her that Gods don't need to eat, right?

"I baked a pie! A lot of pies, actually. Too much for me to eat alone..." She let out an embarrassed giggle. "Maybe you could try some? No one ever gave opinion on my cooking before besides mom!"

Oh, a pie. Sans remembered Life's pies - Queen's crown dish. Back in the days before the whole murderous-Demigoddess incident happened she used to visit the Underworld, always bringing fresh baked goods with her and sharing them with him and his brother. He could still recall the taste, even after all these years.

"Alright, Buttercup, I'll be the Judge of your cooking skills today."

Sitting in the small kitchen was very unusual for the God of Death. For some reason he felt nervous while Frisk cut him a slice of pie.

"Here!" She placed the plate with the fork in front of him. "I am not very good, but I hope it's edible."

Such promising words.

To her credit, the slice she offered him looked and smelled delicious. He took the fork and scooped up a piece, slowly nearing it to his mouth.

He threw a glance towards Frisk and froze instantly.

"Can you, uhhh, maybe not stare?.."

"Oh!" Demigoddess let out a nervous giggle before turning her back to him to cut a slice for herself. "Sorry! I am just, umm, excited? And I wondered how you eat, so I..."

He chuckled.

"How I eat you say?"

She turned to him to see how he lifted the whole plate to his mouth before opening his jaw and throwing the entire pie slice inside. Frisk's expression was something between shock, horror and amazement. It was so amusing he nearly choked.

"What's with that face, Buttercup? Did I make your jaw drop?" He laughed, self satisfied.

"D-do you always eat this way?"

"Of course." He hummed before he saw her face - judging by it, she looked like she could actually believe him. "No, no I don't. But it's refreshing."

"Oh."

"The pie is good, by the way." It was no Toriel's pie, but there was a certain mortal touch to it that made it taste a little bit more special.

Or maybe it was just Frisk and her touch. He wouldn't be surprised.

"Do you want more?" She still seemed shocked which amused him to no end.

"Sure."

He ate properly this time, keeping his jaw closed and making magic do all the work, which amused Frisk no less than his previous act of food consuming.

"I am glad you liked the pie." She said with somewhat bittersweet smile. "It felt a bit sad, eating it alone after mom- Toriel, you know..." She trailed of.

"Don't worry about it, Buttercup." He shrugged. "You feeling better?"

"Yes!" She smiled warmly. "I'll change and be back."

"Alright."

She traded her ripped white robes to... not ripped white robes.

Well, his array of clothing was as black as his soul, so he couldn't judge her on this one.

"Shall we?" He extended his hand to her. He still didn't like touching, but Frisk, who held no malicious intent towards him... he wasn't opposite to touch her small warm hands.

She slid her fingers in his and Reaper took them through the shadows right to Alphys.

Thankfully, she was right there in her research space, slouching over some artifact.

"Alphys!" Frisk called the Goddess, making her shreeck from surprise and quickly turn to them. "Hi again!"

"Y-you are b-back! D-did you talk with Und-dyne?"

"We did." Sans stepped forward, pulling out golden heart locket which made Alphys gasp.

"H-how..."

"We just asked her." He shrugged before throwing the locket right at the Goddess. "Catch!"

Instead of trying to snatch locket from the air, Alphys covered, but little heart never hit her. Timidly opening her eye, she saw that it was flying before her, enfolded in a dim blue-ish fire.

"Here, take it."

Slowly, she touched it, and then platinetavly took it into her hand.

"Oh, t-t-th-thank you... I'm sorry you had t-to go through t-the trouble to..." Alphys opened the locket, letting red liquid spill out of it right on the floor. "... get… it..?"

She froze, looking blankly as the last remains of the potion were dripping down from the golden heart.

"Sorry about that!" Frisk made a few steps towards the Goddess. "Me and Sans just wanted to see if the potion was working!"

"D-did it not?!..."

Frisk shook her head.

"It... Made it worse."

"Alphys." Sans snapped her attention to him, talking in a serious voice. "How did you make that potion."

"Sans!" Frisk threw at him a disapproving glare. "I am sure you meant no harm, Alphys, but-"

"Did you try this potion before?"

"I fo-"

"You know a way to fix it, right?"

"Why did you give Soul Reader to Undyne?"

"I swe-"

"We can still save Toriel, right??"

"Where. Did you. Get the potion?"

"I- STOP!"

Alphys shouted, grabbing her head with her claws and falling on her knees.

"Stop-stop-stop-stop-stop!" Tears poured from her eyes as her form shook. "I- I didn't know! He l-lied to me!!"

Frisk looked taken aback, but Sans pressed on.

"Who?"

"G-gaster."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh
> 
> Next chapter: someone goes to hell


	9. Darkness

She didn't mean it.

She didn't mean to make Alphys cry like that - she wanted to talk, really! - but Sans apparently decided it was a great time to press his suit.

_ Gaster. _ Frisk repeated in her head in an effort to recall if she ever heard that name, but nothing came to mind.

But it wasn't her priority right now.

"Oh, Alphys, I am so sorry!" She crouched in front of the whimpering Goddess and gently took her hand. "Please, we didn't mean to make you cry. Can you tell us what's wrong?"

Reptile Goddess slowly peeked at her from between her claws.

"Y-you... Are not m-mad at me?.."

"I am not. I just want to talk things out."

"O-oh..." She looked relieved for a second before her gaze fell behind Frisk's shoulder. She made a high pitched noise and hid her face in hands again.

Demigoddess turned behind only to see that Sans put out his eye lights, and his strangely expressive face showed pure fury.

Quickly, she stood back up and approached him.

_ Sorry, Alphys, I think God of Death needs a good talk more right now. _

"Sans, what's wrong?"

"Gaster. You gave us the potion that Gaster made?!" Sans roared, his empty pits of eye sockets still fixated on Alphys.

"H-h-he s-s-said it res-s-stores hope! He l-l-lied!"

"When?"

"When he was still here-"

Sans growled. "But, ugh, still!!" He shook his head. "That bastard..."

"Can we please calm down, everyone?" Frisk stared intently at the Reaper. He gave her a blank look but after a few seconds his eye sockets lighted up, even though his face remained unpleasant.

Demigoddess gave him a comforting smile before returning to Alphys.

"It's alright, Alphys, don't be scared."

She sat with the Goddess, patiently waiting when she'll calm down and collect herself.

"I'm so, so, so sorry." She hiccuped quietly. "I should've known b-better. I... I thought I won't make anything worthwhile m-myself, a-and I remembered the p-potion Gaster showed me once... when the t-times were... better... but l-looks like even b-back then he was p-p-plotting something."

"Alphys. When we came to you, we asked for  _ your _ help. We believed in  _ you _ . You are the Goddess of Intelligence and Science, and there's no better person we could ask for help. I know that a lot of humans believe in you, why won't you have a little faith in yourself too?"

"R-really? P-p-people still b-believe in me?"

Frisk nodded.

"Of course they do."

"I... I..."

"So..." Sans interjected, probably tired of awkwardly standing at the side in silence. "Why did you tell Undyne not to give Soul Reader to anyone?"

"I... I thought you'll figure out t-that potion w-wasn't mine and..." She hang her head in shame. "I should've thought better... I am so sorry..."

"I forgive you." Frisk smiled.

In the corner of her eye she saw Sans twitch, but paid it no mind.

"Maybe you can look into it now." Reaper pulled out the potion vial and placed it on the table. "Soul Reader said it's 'concentration of determination'. It must have some magic as well, Frisk really wanted to drink it." To her surprise, he gently took her hand in his. "We must be going. Can you do that?"

Alphys gave a series of very enthusiastic nods.

"Yes-yes-yes, I will!"

"Goodbye, Alphys." Demigoddess said before she got pulled into the shadows.

When the sleezy feeling of shadows washed over her (she was getting used to the feeling, but not the darkness, still squeezing Reaper's hand every time they traveled) she turned to her companion.

"Why every time we leave for somewhere it's always chaste awkward goodbyes? Do you always do that?" She wouldn't be surprised - he was witty and rather talkative with her, but she was starting to suspect she could be an exception, the thought which was strangely flattering.

Or it could've been wishfu- dumb, unjustified thinking. Probably.

"Our quest is time sensitive." Sans said instead of  _ 'hasty exits are the only ones I know because I have no social skills'. _

"You didn't even apologize to Alphys." Frisk mumbled. "I didn't make her cry alone."

"I didn't want her to cry, but I did want her to talk." Reaper shrugged.

"You... you did it on purpose?"

"Couldn't do it alone, so thanks, Buttercup."

"Sans!!!"

"Don't look at me like that, I am the God of Death, that's how I negotiate." He smirked at her sour face. "Besides, I don't apologize."

Frisk huffed. Why he always had to pretend to be worse than he really was? He didn't really believe it, did he?

Why wasn't she believing it?

Distant memory of Sans saying sorry stirred in her head, making her giggle.

"What? What's so funny?" Reaper blinked at her, confused.

"Nothing." She shook her head, deciding to keep it to herself for now since they had something important they had to get to. "What will we do now?"

"Oh. Right. Gaster." Lights of his eyes disappeared when he uttered this name.

"Who is this... Gaster?"

"You don't know?" He smirked. "I'm not surprised. Bastard was kicked out even before Life left."

"So, he is a God?" Her mother never mentioned any other God besides her who left the mountain.

"He  _ was _ a God." Sans corrected her. "God of Science. Before he was thrown away Alphys was the Goddess of Intelligence only, but she had to take over his role as well."

Frisk frowned at that. Taking over the role and responsibilities of another God? That must've been tough, but looks like Alphys managed that when Gods were still helping humanity...

She really had to give herself more credit. Frisk had to remember to tell her that next time they meet.

"What do you mean "he was thrown away"?"

"Gaster..." Sans took a deep breath. "Gaster wanted to destroy humanity."

Frisk stared at her skeleton friend blankly.

"He what??"

"He wanted to kill all mortals. When King and Queen took a human in and turned her into a Demigoddess, they hoped he'll come to his senses, but he became furious. He tried to send a deathly plague on all of humanity, but we stopped him just in time." Sans shook his head. "He was thrown off the mountain right into the void, where he can't use his powers... but looks like he found some way to get to your mother." To her surprise, Reaper manifested his scythe.

"What are you-"

"I'm going to deliver the punishment he deserved in the first place." Sans gripped the handle tighter. "The black spot in her soul must be his magic. If I kill him, it'll disappear."

"Sans, no-"

"Frisk." He looked straight into her eyes with those burning cold lights of his. "This has to be done."

"Let me talk to him."

"No. Not this time, Buttercup."

"How are you even going to kill him? You said Gods can't harm each other!"

"He's been trapped in the void for centuries, at this point even mortal can finish him off." Sans stepped back, only for Frisk to step forward. He frowned.

"How can you be this way?!" He breathed out through his teeth. "Don't you feel angry at all? What about Alphys? How did you forget her so easily??" His shoulders fell and grip weakened as he hanged his skull. "I don't understand, Buttercup."

"I..." Frisk hesitated, unsure how to answer. "Of course I felt angry. I felt betrayed, and I still feel sad..." Her hand curled around the pendant and she squeezed it for comfort. "But I want to give everyone a chance. I want to believe in people. It's not that easy." She shook her head. "But it's all I have, Sans."

"You... you are so naive, Buttercup." Sans chuckled bitterly after a moment of silence. "Even for a mortal. I don't get you, Demigoddess, not at all."

"Let me talk to Gaster, please." Frisk begged to him.

He looked hesitant, but still shook his skull. "No."

"Sans-"

"What if he hurts you?" Something odd flashed on his face before his expression became blank. "You already got hurt today."

_ 'Because of me' _ hanged in his words, unspoken.

"I am fine, Sans." Her stomach was still twisting in pain when she moved too fast - she must've broken a rib during her fight with Undyne, and healing potion didn't heal it completely, but she didn't want Sans to worry.

"You should stay, Buttercup." He was almost pleading himself, pleading for her to listen. "You know what Queen will do to me if you get hurt even more? She'll spring to life just to turn my bones to ashes."

"Sans, we started this together, so let's finish this together. Please."

They stared in each other's eyes for a few moments before he sighed.

"That's why I never had friends." Reaper growled, putting a hand over his eye sockets. "So much hustle."

Frisk beamed at him.

"But... on one condition." Sans looked at her through his fingers.

"Yes?"

"We'll do it tomorrow. You need to rest."

She frowned. "But we can't wait-"

"Just one night."

Frisk bit her lip. She really didn't want to wait more than needed, considering how many lives were on the line, but Sans seemed adamant on this one.

"Fine." She sighed. "I'll sleep and then can we go?"

"Yes."

Frisk turned to her room before looking at the Reaper with hesitance.

"And you..."

"I'll aid my brother." He nodded at his scythe before he nervously scratched his cheek. "You should eat something before we leave as well. You can call me... for company..." He trailed of awkwardly.

_ Did... did he like my cooking? Or just eating with me? _ Frisk felt pleasant warm in her chest, which in turn made her cheeks warm as well.

_ Or maybe he just enjoys free food. He is a God, but he is also Sans. _ That thought made Frisk breath out a laugh.

"Or you know forget about it-" Sans huffed, probably thinking that giggle meant for him.

"No no no, I'll make something for you too." She smiled reassuringly.

"... sure."

"I'll do it!"

"... alright..."

"Just you wait!"

"Go to sleep, Buttercup." He chuckled at her determined face.

"Alright... See you tomorrow."

He nodded and vanished, becoming one with the shadows. Is that how shadow travel looked from the side? Spooky.

Her sleep was an uneasy one. She saw all life perish - flowers dying under her touch instead of blossoming, bodies of people lying amongst the wilted grass, and Gods - all the Gods she met - turning to dust that floated to the dark sky and replaced stars.

She woke up with a start, cold sweat running down her face and stomach and limbs aching from the fight she had yesterday.

She payed it no mind as she raised from the bed and went to prepare her food. Above all her other feelings her determination burned, giving her strength and resolve.

She'll save her mother, whatever the cost.

Unfortunately, those thoughts didn't help Frisk focus on her cooking, which ended up a little burnt.

She felt shameful, looking at it. Sans actually asked her for her cooking, and she just had to ruin it.

_ Now he'll never ask me again. _ She felt pang of sadness hit her soul at the thought.  _ Maybe I have to time try again- _

A knock on the door made her jump away from the table.

_ -or not... _

Biting her lip, Frisk walked up to the door.

"Who's there?"

"Do you have a lot of visitors?" Familiar deep voice rang from the other side, making her involuntarily grin.

"I just wanted to be sure." She opened the door to see her skeleton friend. "Good morning, Sans."

"Greetings." Sans nodded to her. "How're your wounds?"

"Potion healed them completely, don't worry." She gave him a sweet smile, ignoring her still aching stomach. "Mom creates really good healing potions."

"Well, it was the part of her duties, so I don't doubt it." He shrugged.

"Yes..." She contemplated not telling him about the food in hope that he'll forget, but Reaper stood in front if her, waiting to be allowed in while she tortured herself in her own mind. "I- ughh, I tried to make something for you- for us! I meant for us, to, you know, eat, but it didn't go very good, so I don't know if you still want to eat..." She mumbled under her breath.

He looked confused for a second before cocking his head to the side.

"I am the Judge here..." He said slowly. "... sooo, let me taste it and I'll decide for myself."

She let out a sigh but complied, motioning him to get inside. When he sat at the table (he looked so out of place but she found it weirdly endearing) she placed a plate in front of him.

"I told you it's not going to be great." She said as she watched Sans poke the slice.

"This is... quiche?"

"Mhhmm." Frisk looked down at her sad misshapen excuse of a dish that got burned and generally looked miserable.

What a food to serve to a God.

Reaper's face expression didn't change as he scooped up the piece and brought it to his mouth where it disappeared.

Her mother taught her that it's rude to look at other people while they eat, but Frisk couldn't help herself - she was so fascinated how skeletons could eat in yhe first place. When he opened his mouth and devoured an entire pie slice she nearly dropped her own jaw from shock.

She watched him take a bite.

And then another.

And another.

_ Does... does he actually like it? _

"Sans?" She blinked as he continued to eat.

"'ts good." He shrugged at her confused expression. "What? I asked for food, let me enjoy it."

"But... It can't be good." Demigoddess frowned. "You are a God."

"So? I haven't eaten for such a long time, but I still remember how good food tastes like. Especially when it's specially for me." Sans huffed, finishing his portion.

"A-alright?.."

"You ready to go?"

"Oh, wait, one second!" She ran back to Toriel's room, throwing a glance towards her mother before taking an enchanted flower crown and gently settling it on her hair.

"What's with the flowers, Buttercup?" Sans smirked at the sight of her when she got back.

"Mom's artifact." She gently smiled, running fingers over the petals, soft and tender just like the touch of a Goddess. "Flowers that never wilt."

He chuckled. "You look beautiful and all, but I don't think it'll be suitable in the place we are going to."

She couldn't help but blush at his comment. "It's just... it's infused with her magic, you know? It feels like her. And also, if it wilts I'll know that she..."

"Alright, alright, Buttercup." He interrupted her when her voice started to shake. She didn't mean to get so emotional, but she had an inner feeling, this strange inkling that she'll need this crown.

"So, umm, where are we going exactly?" He never mentioned where Gaster was held.

"We call it 'the Void'. An endless pit of darkness in the Underground, a prison for those who commited the crimes against Gods themselves."

That... did not sound good.

"B-but how we are going to get there?" She asked, trying to swallow her dread before going into the literal darkness itself.

"Our usual method of travel." Sans smirked, waving his hand in the air. "I went down there once. I have to take a peek every now and then, to ensure that no one escaped. I don't have a sentence, so I can leave, but the place still affects me if I'm there for too long."

"How?"

"Drains magic mostly. If you are there for a long time it can affect you in... other ways... but we won't have to linger for that long." He was so dismissive about it, but all she could feel was fear building up in her chest.

He looked at her before squinting his eye sockets.

"You sure you want to go, Buttercup?" He frowned in clear concern.

She...she wasn't. She knew she can't just sit back, but stepping forward in this situation was extremely hard.

But her mother needed her. Toriel saved her life and kept her safe and for years, she made her happy, and now it was her time to return what she was due to the Goddess.

Feeling of a gently woven flowercrown on her head filled her with determination.

Her hand moved to her chest and squeezed the pendant she was wearing even now. "I'm sure." Demigoddess nodded.

Sans looked at her a couple seconds longer before smirking.

"I can hear you two times when you do that, you know." He nodded at the pendant.

"Oh! Sorry!"

"It's nothing, you have a lovely voice. Too bad I don't have any ears."

She grinned at his joke and extended him a hand. "I am ready, Sans."

"Alright. Remember - do not venture far from me." Reaper warned her before taking her hand. She nodded, and he swooped her in the world down below.

  
  
  
  


It was... It was dark.

  
  
  
  


Everlasting darkness, surrounding her.

  
  
  
  
  


Consuming.

  
  
  
  


The darkness she saw when she was dying, taking her last breaths as a mortal.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Her worst night nightmare, coming to life.

  
  
  
  
  
  


"Frisk? Frisk?" Voice of someone called out to her, but it was drowning in the deafening silence that spilled into her ears.

It was so dark. Dark,  _ darker _ ,  **_yet darker_ ** .

Distantly she felt herself getting pulled, and then arms encircled her, pushing closer to something solid, unfamiliar but  _ safe _ .

"It's alright, Frisk. Don't be scared."

Those words breathed awareness back into her body, and when she could feel her arms she clinged to the person that was hugging her.

"I am here."

Darkness encircled her, but she could still clearly see him in his black robes (Did he always wear black? Not like he looked bad, but blue would suit him nicely...), his white bones almost glowing in contrast, while his little eye lights shined in the same darkness that his eye sockets possessed.

She wasn't afraid of that darkness, however.

"It's alright, Buttercup, it's alright." He kept whispering into her ear, his hand carefully patting her on the back of her head as he held her close.

Sans. Her first real friend, her beacon of hope in this dying world, who allowed her to accompany him and be by his side while they tried save the Life itself.

She never wanted to leave those arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I am Cheese. Welcome to my fest.  
> Also man, back when writing this I thought chapters were normal length but now they feel so small x'd
> 
> Next chapter: confrontation


	10. Purity

His soul was hammering in his ribcage so hard that he was afraid it was going to burst out.

He really should've insist on Frisk staying home this time, even if it meant he would lose his only friend.

The sheer dread in her glassy eyes, the way she froze - how could he do that to her?

Dear stars, she feared darkness and he brought her into the Void. Maybe that's why he should never have friends - he'll just end up hurting them.

So, he panicked. Smart thing to do in this situation would probably be bringing her back home and returning by himself, but he did the first thing that crossed his mind - pulled her into a hug.

Sans rarely touched anybody, especially if that anybody was alive. It was mostly for the fact that anything living died instantly in his grasp, and even other Gods, being immortal and immune to his domain, avoided him and the cursed powers he held. Aside from Papyrus, of course, who gave him bone-crashing hugs, he never hugged anyone before.

He didn't care. He didn't think he missed out much at this 'touching' stuff. What could be so great in it anyway?

Hugging her, however... felt nice.

He desperately tried to calm her down, his hand going to pat her head (he nearly knocked her flower crown off, so he was more reserved to awkwardly running her hair between his fingers). He was continuously muttering that everything is going to be alright because in this moment nothing else came to mind.

Their souls were so close he could almost feel the beat of hers, her essence and her feelings - sheer determination, resolve to finish what they started, and some feelings towards him that painted his skull colors, but he tried not to linger on those much.

Gradually, he felt her relax against his frame, even though her fingers still gripped him like a vice. She pulled back slowly, her hands holding his robes.

"I'm... sorry about that..." Frisk kept her head low, ashamed and, as he saw in the way her shoulders remained tense, still terrified.

He gently cupped her cheek and turned her to face him.

"It's all good, Buttercup. We are fine." He smiled in a way he hoped was reassuring.

She managed a small smile back.

"It's so... empty..." Her hand went to held his when he slid it off her cheek. He let her squeeze his palm and, feeling somehow sheepish, curled his fingers into hers.

"He should be somewhere in here." Reaper tagged her hand gently and they both started to slowly walk through the darkness.

"Sans?"

"Yes?"

"Can we... talk about something? Anything?"

Silence probably didn't help her fear, so he began to think.

"What did Reaper say to his lazy brother?"

"What?.."

"Stop  _ killing _ time." He smiled when he heard her chuckle.

"What a  _ mood killer _ , Sans."

"I thought you were  _ dying _ for a conversation."

"I did not expect you to start  _ slaying _ me with your jokes."

"Got a  _ bone _ to pick with me?"

"No." Frisk shook her head, giving his hand a squeeze. "Not even your  _ funny bone _ ."

Reaper chuckled.

"Well I-" He was about to hit her with another joke when he felt magical presence - weak, weaker than even mortals had, but still present - ahead of them. All the playfulness vanished from his face, and he instinctively pulled Frisk closer.

"Quiet. He is near."

Frisk made a squeak he in any other situation would find adorable, but right now he was more focused on locating the banished God.

Suddenly, something white popped up in the surrounding darkness. Even though his body was black, Sans could see the everchanging outlines of it.

Once upon a time, Gaster was a skeleton as well. However, long stay in the Void made him change, his solid body becoming one with the surrounding blackness, adopting almost liquid-like state. His face remained the same, oval and scarred, only difference being that he lost his always serious arrogant look and now had everpresent thin smile that almost stretched from one socket to another.

As if he was mocking Sans.

"Look who we have here." Gaster crept closer, speaking in an amused tone, his voice crackling. "The King of the Dead and the Daughter of Life."

His detached hands floated over Frisk's head, above the flower crown.

"Life is not feeling good, hmm?"

Sans involuntarily tensed when he saw the way he looked at Frisk. He didn't liked glint in his eye sockets one bit, so he stepped in front of her.

"Hello, old man. You know why we are here."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

Sans was not in the mood for his games. "You are pulling hope from Queen's soul. Couldn't give up even after you got thrown here, huh?"

"I am afraid I am unaware of what you are talking about." Gaster spread his hands that were just flying in the air, the palm having huge holes in them.

"You... you are killing Toriel." Frisk spoke up.

"It's nothing personal." He said, as if he just made her trip and was not responsible for her dying state. "I have to work with what I have, child, and in this state I was lucky enough to get her infected.

"B-but why?!" Demigoddess exclaimed. "Because you hate humans?!"

"Precisely."

"Why?!"

"How do I say it..." He learned closer. "I conducted a research, and results were... fascinating. Humans posses something I called LOVE - Level Of Violence. The capacity to hurt someone. You, Reaper might know it as well."

Sans frowned. He was right - being a Judge, he could read human souls like an open book, and he could see something like that as well.

"And what I found out that it is empowering. With enough LOVE, human can even kill Gods."

"It doesn't mean they will." Skeleton raised a bonebrow.

"Except they will, of course. Humans have always chased the desire to suppress Gods - with ambitions and inventions, while they lived off our gifts. Look what that little Demigoddess did with the power that was entrusted to her."

Darkness crept closer.

"I wonder what you will do..."

Frisk intook a sharp breath, and with a pull of magic Sans got his scythe out and swinged the blade between her and Gaster.

"Enough." Sans couldn't let him keep scaring her like that. "You are just proving how wrong you are. You know nothing about Frisk, but you not going to. I didn't want to sentence you to it, but you leave me no choice."

"I thought you were smart one, Sans." Gaster hummed, but did back off. "You really think killing me will save the Queen?"

"Too late to play mind games, G." Reaper scoffed and prepared to swing his scythe.

"Sans, wait!"

Of course. Skeleton grit his teeth while turning to Frisk. Her whole look was telling him 'I've got this'.

"Well, do you thing, talk to him, but one wrong move and I'll slash through his miserable excuse of a soul." He muttered under his breath and gave Demigoddess a nod.

"Gaster." She released Sans' hand to step forward. "Despite anything, I'm not here to kill you... or let you be killed."

Fallen God hummed with zero gratitude in his distorted voice, which made Reaper's left eye socket sparkle with blue light. "And what are you here for, then?"

"I want you to come back."

An eerie silence surrounded them in already soundless Void.

Sans stared at Frisk's back, silently but very intensely questioning her.

"And why would you want that?" Gaster voiced out his own question.

"Because humans need Gods." Frisk said with absolute certainty. "They need God's gifts. You said that their capacity to do bad is..."

"Boundless."

"... boundless... but what their capacity to do good? Not all humans breakthroughs all in the name of 'conquering Gods', it's for... them. They want to take all from their short lives, and want to make lives of their descendants better."

"But why, may I ask, I should return?"

"You are still a God." 

Betraying her confident image, Frisk gripped her pendant. Sans noticed that odd habit of hers, but he was more surprised by the fact that she chose to wear it at all times. He suspected she wouldn't, since it was something created by one God of Death and given by another, but at this point he should've known that she wasn't put off by that.

"One my friend told me once that the world hangs in balance. I believe that humans need Gods to thrive, all of the Gods, to show them that they are more than just LOVE, and... I believe that Gods need humans as well. You, Gods... you might be monsters, but you closer to mortals than you may think."

She turned her head, and for just a second Sans caught the corner of her golden eye peeking at him between the gorgeous locks of hair. "You are much more than your powers and duties. You are... you are people, too. You have your strengths, your flaws, and... just like humans, you can become better."

Him? Become better? Sans felt doubt tagging at his soul. He's been the same ever since the beginning of ti-

_ Or was I? _ He still remembered the times when he was more ambitious, before he found out his duty as a God. Times when he didn't want darkness to define him, but ultimately gave up and accepted that he'll be an outcast forever.

But Frisk treated him differently. She saw in him something he wasn't... or, rather, never shown.

Could he really change?

"Interesting, interesting." Gaster mused after a minute of silence. "You are certainly not like the little Demigoddess that came before you. You don't even have any LOVE in you."

"Will you return?" Frisk pressed her suit.

"No, I'm afraid I won't." God gestured at himself. "Look what became of me. I may not respect Sans as a God, but I respect him as a Judge, so I have to pay for mistakes I've made."

"How about fixing them?" Sans didn't care if Gaster respected him or not, but they still had to find a way to save Toriel.

Gaster glared sharply at him before returning his attention to Demigoddess.

"I still believe that one day humans will turn onto Gods, but... you gave me a fascinating thought, young woman. I'll let you decide what to do with the knowledge I will tell you."

Frisk nodded.

"Toriel shared with you part of her soul, thus her soul was incomplete. In that place I put a magic of my own."

"I... I see." Frisk looked thoughtful.

Reaper frowned. This... this seemed bad, and he tried to push his first hypothesis aside. Too bad it was his only idea, but it couldn't be right.

It couldn't be.

After a few seconds, Demigoddess took a few steps back, leveling with Sans, and took his hand in hers while still looking at the Fallen God. "I forgive you."

This time, Gaster looked surprised.

"See, old man?" Sans knowingly smirked. "You never know how mortals will be. Be very thankful to Frisk - she saved your life today. I'll spare you... for now." He looked at Frisk. She gripped his hand and nodded, and he swept them back into the world.

After darkness of the Void, even saturated colors of the dying nature seemed too bright for his eyes. He blinked for a couple of seconds, clearing his vision, and then turned to the Demigoddess.

She looked... sad. Sad and thoughtful.

"Buttercup? You alright?" He shook their still intertwined hands, trying to capture her attention. "What you said back there... Not too bad. Maybe you might be the Demigoddess of negotiation or something." He tried to talk and deviate from the only idea he had in his skull.

She still didn't seem to react to his words, looking like she was mulling something over in her head.

Reaper didn't want to admit, but he felt more worried about her that he probably should've.

"Frisk?"  _ Please, don't think what I'm thinking. _

Finally, Demigoddess turned to him. She looked at his face, in his eyes, as if she just met him for the first time, and after a while she gave him a smile, sweet and bitter at the same time. It made his soul ache in a way he didn't like.

"Thank you very much, Sans. For everything."

No. He couldn't part with someone so special so soon.

"Frisk-"

His best friend.

"She gave me the part of her soul. It's time I returned it back."

He couldn't lose her.

"Buttercup-"

His flower.

"I... have to die."

His angel of mercy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp... Yup. Very anticlimactic but oh well.
> 
> Next chapter: goodbyes


	11. Rebirth

She knew how it felt to die.

Even after all these years, Frisk remembered her dying moments. Taste of blood in her mouth and its ruby red colour. Numbness in her body. Feeling of her soul splitting apart.

And pain. So much pain.

She never wanted to go through anything like that again.

But... she had to. The fate of the whole world depended on it, and she had to be ready. She knew what's important. After all, she was never meant to live forever. The beautiful, captivating magic in her soul was never hers to begin with, and it was time to give it back.

No matter how she felt. No matter with how much sorrow Sans looked at her.

"This is it..." She bit her lip - it sounded so final and bitter, and she didn't want him to know how she felt, so she tried to smile. "I'm sorry we won't get to talk anymore. I really enjoyed your stories."

"Buttercup, there must be another way-" He was still trying to grasp straws, hoping he could derail her from her decision.

"No, Sans." She placed their still intertwined hands to her chest. "I have to. I am the daughter of Life, and I can't let my mother die."

"I, _ughh_ , I... I never hated my duty as much as I do now." He let out a sad chuckle.

"Can I ask you for something?"

"Last wish? You know how many times I heard that?" His humour lacked its spark, and that spark was gone from his eyes as well.

"Can you... take me to the King's palace?"

He frowned. "Why?"

"I want to talk to the King. To Asgore." Saying his name out loud was weird for her, intimidating, but determination in her soul burned.

"He might kill you himself, Buttercup."

"But you'll protect me, right? Just like in the Void?" She let out a soft giggle. "Thank you for that."

"I... I will protect you." He didn't seem to process her words and only nodded to himself, looking at their hands with determination of his own.

After the chilling darkness of the Void, shadow travelling seemed like a spring breeze, especially with Sans by her side. They appeared in front of a familiar door right to the throne room, her eyes flying at the empty space on it in its carvings.

"What do you want to tell him?" Sans drew her attention from the tracery.

"A lot." Was all she said, looking up at him. "You don't have to go with me if you don't want to."

"Of course I have." He shook their hands. Looked like he didn't intend to let go for a while. "I have to protect you, Buttercup."

That brought a smile to her face.

"Besides, I don't want to miss the show." He winked cheekily.

She giggled. _Of course_.

"Let's go, then."

Together, they pushed the doors (which were heavier than she expected, and the fact that Sans didn't want to let her hand go made it a bit uncomfortable... but she would rather go back into the Void again than let go of him) and made their way inside.

Frisk couldn't help but gasp in awe. She... she didn't expect the throne room to be a large garden.

And what a grand garden it was. Everything her eyes fell upon was green, besides the giant throne in the far side of the room, and flowers, so many flowers that it made her head spin. Even her magic couldn't create flowers like these, and everything around breathed with such life that it almost made her forget the dying landscapes that layed outside.

"You like it, huh?" She heard Sans whisper to her.

"Yes..." She breathed out in return. "It's so beautiful..." Her gaze wondered around before it stopped at the Reaper and his troubled expression. "What's the matter?"

He gave her a sad smile. "Every time I come here... a part of it dies."

She followed his gaze and looked at his feet. Now that she was looking, there was a black path in the greenery, probably left from the times Sans visited. But right now, flowers under his legs did not even bowed.

"But not with you here." She looked back up at him again when he spoke. "With you I can... enjoy flowers."

Maybe those words shouldn't have flattered her, but they did.

"I'm going to miss this." He muttered so quiet she almost missed it.

Her heart throbbed painfully. She wanted to reassure him somehow, but nothing came to mind. He could probably touch flowers in her mother's presence, but she had a feeling that's not what he meant.

Before she could open her mouth to say something, she heard heavy footsteps from the other side of the room.

"Is someone there?" A deep voice boomed across the hall.

"Your Majesty." Sans spoke back.

"S-sans?" Frisk didn't expect King to sound so surprised and almost causious.

Finally, he stepped out of the shadows and Frisk got a proper look at him.

He appeared to be the same kind of monster Toriel was, but much bigger. He had a beard worthy of a king, and between his massive horns a small crown was present.

After all the stories her mother told her, Frisk expected an enormous beast, but he, despite his size and the grand armor he wore, didn't look intimidating. Even his face held no malice when he spotted that Sans was not alone.

"Sans?.." King's eyes kept flying between them.

"Ey, Asgore." Reaper waved his hand. "This girl wants to talk to you."

For a second every thought left her, but there was no backing down now.

"Greetings, your Majesty." Frisk bowed her head. "I am Frisk, Toriel's daughter."

"Demigoddess?.."

"Yes. You are probably aware of the state of the world right now, and I can tell you what's going on. You see, my mother... She is on a brink of death. She fell down, but I-"

"Toriel... fell down?" Asgore visibly tensed.

"Yes. Thanks to excessive help from Sans..." He clenched her hand harder. "We know how to help her. I have to return her the part of her soul she gave to me... but before I die, I want to ask you something."

King looked lost, and she didn't blame him - she felt lost herself for such a long time.

"I... I want to ask you to allow Gods to help humanity again."

"... and why?"

"Because humans need Gods, and you need humans as well. Look at the state of the world - it will take decades to restore it. The world needs balance - everyone matter and everyone have their place and role. So I plead to you - please, let Gods return."

King looked at her in silence, his eyes thoughtful. He glanced at Sans a couple of times, as if wordlessy asking his opinion, but skeleton remained still.

"I do not know you, Frisk." He spoke after a while. "But I do remember my wife. She... she raised you well." He let out a soft sigh. "I'll consider your words... if you really bring her back."

Frisk nodded. "Thank you."

She turned to Sans, but he was still motionless.

"Really? That's it? 'Consider'?" His voice sounded raw, and eye lights were sharp when he looked up from his hood. "That's what you are telling Demigoddess that's going to sacrifice her life to save Toriel? The world? While you sit around in your castle, outside world lays in ruins. And that's what you are telling to her last will?"

"I-"

"Sans!" Frisk called him. "Please, don't! Don't be mad. I just wanted to talk. It's enough."

"But-" He turned to her, furious, but one look at her saddened face was enough to cool him down. He stared at her for a second longer before sighing and turning towards the door and quietly muttered. "You deserved much more, Buttercup."

"We... we should go." She softly whispered, tugging his hand lightly, and he complied, bringing them back to her little house, leaving ashamed King behind.

She didn't expect him to raise his voice like that, especially towards the King. She expected him to be angry at her for proposing something like she did, not… what he did.

"Are you alright?" She asked Sans.

He forced a smile out. "About to witness another death, nothing out of ordinary. Just my usual day."

"Sans…"

"Fine... don't worry about me, Buttercup. Maybe you won't die."

"I... I will. I must." She sighed, suppressing a chill that ran down her spine. "When Toriel turned me into a Demigoddess, I was on the brink of death." That feeling, her soul shaking, ready to explode into million of pieces. "My soul splintered apart. Without magic to hold it together..."

"What if it does? You are the most determined person I've ever met." He looked at her hopefully. "Don't give up just yet."

"I don't know..." Could she make it out? Be human? Return to other humans to try and live in this half dead world?

Would she be able to see other Gods? For them, a human's lifespan seemed no more than a day, and even if they do come back they'll be too busy for some mortal girl like her.

She will never see her mother again.

She won't be able to touch Sans again.

 _It doesn't matter_ . Frisk thought, her grip on his hand loosening. _He is a God. After a couple of centuries he won't remember me._

Unfamiliar pain twisted in the pit of her stomach, but she blamed it on the fight she had yesterday as she pushed those thoughts aside.

"There... might be another way." Sans spoke up again, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "What if... your soul will be held not by Toriel's, but... mine?.."

Under the hood she could spot that pastel blue colored his cheekbones, but he still wouldn't look her in the eyes.

"What do you mean?" She asked, surprised.

"You- I- ugh... If we... If we get married..." Reaper cleared his throat. "We could get a soulbond. With my magic in your soul, you'll remain a Demigoddess." He finally looked at her with the eye lights of his. "You'll be a wonderful underworld queen... There's no flowers, giving mine and my brother's presence, but I'm sure you'll make it work- you don't have to do any queenly duties, it's just- you can pull souls out, which no one can do easily, so it must mean something, a-and I'm sure we'll figure out some way for you to work with them, guiding through the- or _nothing_ , you can do absolutely nothing, I don't want to use you, I... I just want you to _live_ , Buttercup. So..."

She felt her cheeks warm up. He offered... he _wanted_?..

Soulbond, her mother told her, was something that only the most devoted of lovers did - sharing a part of themselves, a lifespan and memories through their souls. It existed between Gods as well - even after all these years of separation and hard feelings, Toriel and Asgore remained soulbonded.

And Sans... really wanted to save her that much?

Frisk closed her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm and collected and not let her imagination run wild.

"I... I am so sorry, but I have to decline your offer." Now she was afraid to look at him, to see the expression of his face. "It's... too risky. What if it doesn't work? You are a God, and my soul is already so messed up- what if I die while trying to save my mom? It- it'll kill you too! And I ca- I mean, _world_ can't lose you! Do- do you understand?" She desperately explained, rumbling without a stop.

"... your soul is beautiful..." She heard him murmur before he raised his voice. "It's alright, Buttercup. I get it."

"Do you? I don't wa-"

"Yes, yes, I do." Sans reassured her. "You can look at me, you know."

When she raised her eyes, she was met with Reaper's soft gaze.

 _How can you be so... gentle?_ Frisk felt her cheeks heat up. _Oh no, quickly, think about something else!_

"I-" Demigoddess abruptly spoke up. "I should probably return you this." She started to take off the pendant half way through her speech but he placed his hand above it.

"No. Keep it. It's yours." Sans shook his skull. "I want you to have it."

"Ah, then..." She removed a flower crown from her head and, before Reaper could question what she was doing, placed it on his head, right on the hood. "Have this! For helping me."

_Maybe it'll remind you of me when you forget._

She made a move to lower her hands but before she could Sans captured both of her palms with his, keeping her fingers on the flower crown.

"Wait wait wait, Buttercup, I am _Death_ , you've seen what happens when I touch wildlife. Those flowers will be nothing but dust."

She just smiled. "Those are enchanted, remember? If you still worry-" She focused all of her magic, letting it sip into the flower crown. She... won't be able to do it much longer, so why hold back. "There. Now it should be fine."

To prove her point, Frisk slowly pulled her hands away. Sans looked rather nervous, but magic seemed to be working, golden buttercups still blooming under his skeletal fingers.

"Heh." He genuinely smiled, running his hand over the soft petals. "Thanks, Buttercup."

"There's one more thing I want to ask you." Seeing him smiling softly like that finally gave her courage.

"Anything for you."

That caught her off guard, but she decided not to dwell on it. "If my soul doesn't shatter... can you take care of it? Please? I don't know what will happen to me, and will I be able to feel or know anything at all, but... I trust you to keep it safe. Can you do that for me?"

Sans was silent for a long time, but then gave her a nod.

"Of course. I... I promise."

That was it. She tried to think of something else, to stall more, but it was time.

 _Just one more thing. Last day to live, consequences be damned._ Taking a deep breath, Frisk rushed to Sans, hugging him.

"Thank you for everything." Last goodbyes. "I'm so glad I met you, Sans."

She didn't expect him hugging her back with the same intensity.

"Dammit, Buttercup... You better make it out alive, so I can kill you myself for making me... feel what I do." He huffed.

"Heh, I'm... I'm sorry." She gently pat his back, mirroring his movements when he held her in the Void.

He said nothing, hugging her tighter.

They stood like that for a while, but Frisk could already feel her determination burning brightly inside.

"See you on the other side?" She pulled out and gave Reaper one last smile.

"You better meet me there." Sans whispered back.

She entered her house, leaving God outside, and walked right to her mother. Taking a sit by her bed, Frisk hovered her hand over Life's chest, making a pulling motion just like she saw Sans do. A little heart flew out, just like she remembered. Pulling out her own soul, she took a look at it for a moment, admiring the swirling gold sparkles in the red sea of her very being.

_I love you, mother._

_I'm sorry._

_Goodbye._

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


but it **R E F U S E D**

  
  


* * *

Toriel woke up slowly. She still felt very tired, just like before she took a nap, but even though she didn't feel any better, it seemed like she was asleep for ages.

"Frisk?" She called out to her daughter, but didn't hear anything in response.

_Did she go outside?_

"My child?" Goddess not so gracefully stumbled to the door and walked outside.

"Dear stars..." She breathed out, looking at all the empty trees and dark yellowed grass.

_Did... did i fall?.._

Not so far from her, she spotted someone. Someone she didn't see in centuries, but was still familiar.

He was sitting on the ground for what seemed like a long time, black spot of dead grass circling him. Walking closer, Toriel saw a flower crown in his lap, golden buttercups shining against the black robe, and something in his hands that he held gently and was looming over.

"Sans?.." She quietly called him, not sure if he really was there or if it was just a vision of sorts.

His shoulders tensed and he turned his head to her, revealing full of tears eyesockets and the happiest smile she had ever seen from him.

"She... she pulled through."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand that's the story! Thank you so much for reading, it's been great-  
> What, one more chapter? ¯\\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯
> 
> Next chapter: future


	12. Spring

Two hundred years had past.

Was it longer that that? Sans didn't know... except he did.

He counted each year since "The Fall" era... Since humanity nearly went extinct, only for Gods to return and mark the beginning of the new era - "The Rise".

Asgore was so bad at naming Sans found it almost comical... in the same way that tragedy was comical.

For Reaper though, he counted the years since he met his angel.

Frisk.

After she brought Toriel back, things weren't easy. Goddess' soul became whole again, but her magic reserves ran lower than they've ever been, and the process of restoring it was painfully slow. She had to bring life to the world back step by step, flower by flower.

And this took time. A looot of time.

Humans kept dying, and it took him and his brother a long time and a lot of hard work to gather all the souls. He deserved a good, long break after that chaos.

Almost all his free time he spent with Frisk. Well, with her soul. He hated making promises, but this - this he was intended to keep despite anything. It took a lot of persistence to talk Toriel down about this. Even being weakened to the degree that she was, her sadness of losing her child yet again struck skies with weeks and weeks of endless rain, weeks of her unending tears and mourning. She did not believe Sans at first, the fact that he befriended Demigoddess and made a promise to her, but even if it would spark a new war he would not give her the soul.

But after a while, Life believed him, reluctantly... When he asked why, she told him about the diary Frisk kept, and how, apparently, all the later pages were about him and their journey.

It was embarrassing, but endearing at the same time. And after all, Sans was entrusted to keep Frisk's soul safe and protected.

Her beautiful red soul.

Sans devoted a room in the castle especially for it... for her. It wasn't much at first - just a place for him to sit and a table for the flower crown Demigoddess gave to him. Slowly, though, Reaper started to bring more things - some human inventions, some curious artifact he snatched from Alphys' research place, things he thought Frisk would like, and also things he liked himself. Over the years this room became a cluster of various items and things, and also his favourite place in the whole Underworld. Place where he could talk and feel truly himself, just like when he was by her side.

Sometimes he felt lonely, but he was much less lonely than before - both Alphys and Undyne started to treat him a lot differently than in the past. Well, they still weren't friends, but.. allies was probably the right word.

They were both sad when they heard what happened to Frisk. Alphys also told him about the potion.

"My hypothesis-" She started explaining to him on one of the God's parties - Sans used to hate them, but after he met Frisk... No, that didn't change, he still didn't like them, but he couldn't say no to his brother. "-is that Gaster made that potion to corrupt the Demigoddess."

"What?"

"I'm talking about... _C-ch-chara_..." Alphys stumbled on her words. "Her soul was red with determination as well, and you mentioned how Frisk wanted to drink it - it must've been targeted at Chara!"

"Oh. So... any more of Gaster's possibly world ending inventions lying around in your room?" Sans hummed.

"N-no! Or, well, I h-h-have to ch-check." Goddess gave him a nervous smile.

Alphys wasn't scared of him like before, which was... refreshing. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but it gave him hope that others will one day see in him something more than Death.

Poor Goddess still walked right into all of his pranks though.

Slowly but surely world was healing. After Gods returned to humans, the Goddess of Life was reluctant to believe them at first, but, being as weak as she was, couldn't deny their help.

" _Only for the sake of the people_." She said to the King.

She still refused to return back on the Mountain, but resumed her acquirences with other Gods - old friends and still loyal to her subjects. For a couple of decades there was a rumor that she was seen meeting the King, so maybe they'll see old Queen returning to her Kingdom - on a throne or at least amongst other Gods that inhabited the mountain.

Life just... kept going, like it always had.

...

Until the first day of spring.

Sans was in his castle, taking a walk amongst the halls after a particularly tiring trial, heading to Frisk's room for a bit of relaxation time. When he approached it, he was greeted by the sight of his brother.

"Paps?" He called him questioningly. Not like Papyrus never visited Frisk's soul, Sans just didn't expect him to be there in the daytime.

"BROTHER, I KNEW I WOULD FIND YOU HERE!"

Sans smiled and raised his bone brow. "You didn't, I found yo-"

"QUEEN TORIEL REQUIRES YOUR PRESENCE IN THE THRONE ROOM!"

Short skeleton instantly frowned. "You mean in King's castle or-"

"NO. OUR THRONE ROOM!" Papyrus looked rather giddy, even more giddy than the times other people visited their castle, even including royalty. Sans didn't know if it was a good sign or not, but well, he was happy when his brother was happy.

"In _throne_ sting. Should I go-"

"SANS!"

"Yes, I'm going there." Chuckling, Sans went through the shadow and emerged right from behind his throne. Just like Papyrus said, the Goddess of Life was there, standing out of place so much her glow could hurt eyes. Luckily, he didn't have those.

"Life." Sans spoke casually. "What brings you here?"

She looked as calm as ever. "Sans, there's something I want to do."

Since when Queen, even former one, wanted a permission to do something from the likes of him? "What?"

"I want to bring Frisk back to life."

If he had a heart, it would stop right there. As it was, only his soul froze along with his body.

"You-"

"I am ready, Sans." Toriel smiled self-assuredly. "I gathered enough power, and now... I want to bring my child back. I ask you to give me her soul."

"You... you really can?.." He still couldn't quite believe it. He must've looked and sounded like an idiot, but he didn't care.

All he cared about was that he would see her again.

"Yes. She will most probably be in a sleep for some time, just like when she was turned into a Demigoddess for the first time, but..."

"Alright." He didn't need persuasion.

_He was going to meet her again._

* * *

Every bone in her body felt heavy.

She slowly opened her eyes, seeing a familiar sight of the wooden ceiling.

_What... happened?_

Utter chaos was swirling in her mind like a fog, and she groaned, slowly pulling herself up into a sitting position and shaking her head.

Suddenly, everything came rushing into her mind.

_Frisk. My name._

_Demigoddess._

_Mother._

_Sick._

_Sans._

_Void._

_Cure..._

Frisk groaned more, holding her head more tightly.

She was home in her room. Didn't she return her magic to Toriel?

Wasn't she supposed to be dead?

_Was it all... A dream?_

Certainly, it couldn't be - it seemed too real. Her memories were still hazy, but she started to remember everything that happened. She also remembered Sans' deep voice... Talking to her, a _lot_ , but she could never answer.

Telling her stories. Telling her jokes.

Telling her how much he misses her.

 _Well, that one must've been a dream._ She thought and bit her lip.

In the corner of her eye Demigoddess noticed something - a familiar pendant that Sans gave her.

So her mother's sickness wasn't a dream. _Huh_.

Swiping it off the bedside table into her hand, Frisk slowly stood up and went to the front door, longing for some fresh air.

When she opened it, gasp flew from her lips.

After all the dying flora, she forgot how gorgeous growing nature can be.

After a minute of staring and taking the surroundings in, she put on the pendant and held in her hand for a while, letting familiar shape dig into her palm, before opening her mouth and calling out softly.

"Sans?"

Pendant remained silent, but after her heart took a beat she felt sudden wind rush on her back. Turning around, she ended up facing him.

"Frisk?" Skeleton looked just like she remembered him. His voice was a hushed whisper, and he looked at her as if she was made of the finest glass that will break when wind caresses it.

"Hello, Sans."

"Hello, Buttercup."

Hesitantly, she raised one of her hands, inching to touch him, but he beat her to it, swiping her into a tight hug.

"You are alive." He breathed out with a relief and laughed.

"But... How? What happened? Everything looks fine..."

"You did it, Buttercup." Sans pulled away far enough to look her in the eyes. "You saved Life. After that..." His smile melted away. "You... you were gone. Your soul made it through, and I took care of it for two hundred years. And then Toriel brought you back."

"How's she? She is alright?"

Sans laughed softly. "Yes, that's you. I just told you you were gone for two hundred years and you are more concerned about your mom."

Frisk hummed.

 _Two hundred years..._ It seemed so much, but she started to remember stuff that she did like it was only yesterday. She could even recall some of the Reaper's jokes he told her when they were together.

"Life's fine, as you can see." Sans continued and winked. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

Frisk smiled pleasantly. "Can't wait."

"Did you know that Gods returned to help humans?"

"Really?!" She gasped and hugged him again with a squeal. "That's wonderful!"

"That's all you, Buttercup." He chuckled warmly. "So, how about a walk across the Underworld while I tell you all the things my brother was up too these past years?"

"But what about my mother?"

"Eh, she'll understand. She's with Asgore right now, trying to resolve the Fire Breathing Whale Issue."

"What issue?.."

"Come with me and I'll tell you." Skeleton winked, making her heart skip a beat.

_I wonder... Does he remember?.._

It was two hundred years ago, but what if...

"Sans?" Familiar feeling of determination filled her being.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember the offer you made to me when we parted last time?" His gaze was too much to bear so she looked away, face positively red. "Is... is it still on the table?.."

Sans looked at her blush with confusion, trying to think back to their last meeting.

 _Does she mean..._ His eye sockets widened in realisation, cheekbones blazing blue, before wild grin split his face in half. Taking her hand in his, he gave it a gentle kiss.

"Of course, my lady."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it, the ending! You didn't think I can actually write angst, did you? XD  
> Thank you everyone for reading, leaving kudos and supporting me with your comments 💖💕♥️


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